extinction
noun
ex·tinc·tion
ik-ˈstiŋ(k)-shən
plural extinctions
1
a
: the act of making extinct or causing to be extinguished
gradual extinction of the national debt
b
: the condition or fact of being extinct
also
: the process of becoming extinct
attempting to save a species from extinction
… at least 17 species of the island's largest mammals, birds, and reptiles were lost in a wave of extinctions that occurred about 1,000 years ago. —Pamela S. Cubberly
Now, more than 40 percent of the world's 7,000 or so languages are thought to be at risk of extinction, some with just a handful of elderly native speakers left. —Benjamin Plackett
see also mass extinction
2
: the process of eliminating or reducing a conditioned (see conditioned entry 1 sense 2) response by not reinforcing it
When a rat in a Skinner box presses a lever, a tone sounds momentarily, followed shortly by delivery of food. … After the animal has been conditioned in this way, the experimenter begins extinction, so that when the rat presses the lever neither the tone nor the food appears.—Rita L. Atkinson et al.
Cite this Entry
“Extinction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extinction. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.
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