Meanings
nounselection (countable and uncountable, plural selections)
plural selections
- countableuncountableThe process or act of selecting.
The large number of good candidates made selection difficult.
- countableuncountableSomething selected.
My final selection was a 1934 Chateau Lafite.
Synonyms: option
- countableuncountableA variety of items taken from a larger collection.
I've brought a selection of fine cheeses to go with your wine.
Synonyms: subset
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe ability of predicates to determine the semantic content of their arguments.
- countableuncountablecomputingA list of items on which user operations will take place.
- countablehistoricaluncountableThe free selection before survey of crown land in some Australian colonies under land legislation introduced in the 1860s.
Our selection adjoined a sheep-run on the Darling Downs, and boasted […] a forest of box-trees, a stock-yard, and six acres under barley[.]
1899, Steele Rudd, chapter 3, in On Our Selection, Sydney: Bulletin- AustraliacountablehistoricaluncountableA plot of land, or farm, thus selected.
- countableuncountablecomputerThe stage of a genetic algorithm in which individual genomes are chosen from a population for later breeding.
- abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountablebiologyEllipsis of natural selection.
1 more example
Slow though the process of selection may be, if feeble man can do much by his powers of artificial selection, I can see no limit to the amount of change, to the beauty and infinite complexity of the coadaptations between all organic beings, one with another and with their physical conditions of life, which may be effected in the long course of time by nature’s power of selection.
1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Natural Selection”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 109
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomething selected.
Similar
nounA variety of items taken from a larger collection.
Similar
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nouna natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinsēlēctiō“the act of choosing out, selection”
- Englishselection
Learned borrowing from Latin sēlēctiō (“the act of choosing out, selection”), from sēligō (“choose out, select”), from sē- (“apart”) + legō (“gather, select”). Equivalent to select + -ion.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐκλογή, ἐκλογή
- ἐκλογή (eklogḗ)process or act of selecting
- ἐκλογή (eklogḗ)something selected
- ἐκλογή (eklogḗ)variety of items taken from a larger collection
Basque aukeraketa, aukera
- aukeraketaprocess or act of selecting
- aukerasomething selected
- aukeravariety of items taken from a larger collection
Bengali ইন্তেখাব
- ইন্তেখাব (intekhab)process or act of selecting
Bulgarian избор, подбор
- избор (izbor)process or act of selecting
- подбор (podbor)process or act of selecting
- избор (izbor)something selected
- подборка (podborka)something selected
- подборка (podborka)variety of items taken from a larger collection
Catalan selecció
- seleccióprocess or act of selecting
Chinese Mandarin 選擇 /选择
- 選擇 /选择 (xuǎnzé)process or act of selecting
Czech výběr
- výběrprocess or act of selecting
Danish valg, selektion
- valgprocess or act of selecting
- selektionprocess or act of selecting
Finnish valinta, valitseminen
- valintaprocess or act of selecting
- valitseminenprocess or act of selecting
- valintasomething selected
- valikoimavariety of items taken from a larger collection
- tarjoomavariety of items taken from a larger collection
French sélection, sélection
- sélectionprocess or act of selecting
- sélectionsomething selected
German Anwahl, Auswahl
- Anwahlprocess or act of selecting
- Auswahlprocess or act of selecting
- Wahlprocess or act of selecting
- Aufrufprocess or act of selecting
- Aussonderungprocess or act of selecting
- Auslesesomething selected
- Auswahlsomething selected
- Markierungsomething selected
- Nominierungsomething selected
- Sichtungsomething selected
- Auslesevariety of items taken from a larger collection
- Auswahlvariety of items taken from a larger collection
Hindi चुनना, चयन करना
- चुनना (cunnā)process or act of selecting
- चयन करना (cayan karnā)process or act of selecting
- चयन (cayan)something selected
- चयनित (caynit)something selected
Hungarian kiválasztás, kiválogatás
- kiválasztásprocess or act of selecting
- kiválogatásprocess or act of selecting
- választásprocess or act of selecting
- válogatásprocess or act of selecting
- szelektálásprocess or act of selecting
- választássomething selected
- döntéssomething selected
- válogatásvariety of items taken from a larger collection
- választékvariety of items taken from a larger collection
- kiválasztódásbiology: natural selection
- kiválogatódásbiology: natural selection
- szelekcióbiology: natural selection
Irish rogha, rogha
- roghaprocess or act of selecting
- roghasomething selected
Italian selezione
- selezioneprocess or act of selecting
Japanese 選択
- 選択 (sentaku)process or act of selecting
Korean 선택
- 선택 (seontaek)process or act of selecting
Latin sēlēctiō
- sēlēctiōprocess or act of selecting
Malay pemilihan
- pemilihanprocess or act of selecting
Māori whiringa, kōwhitinga
- whiringasomething selected
- kōwhitingasomething selected
- tīpakongasomething selected
- tīpakongavariety of items taken from a larger collection
Norwegian Bokmål utvalg, utvelgelse
- utvalgprocess or act of selecting
- utvelgelseprocess or act of selecting
- seleksjonprocess or act of selecting
- utvalgsomething selected
- utvalgvariety of items taken from a larger collection
Persian گزینش, انتخاب
- گزینش (gozineš)process or act of selecting
- انتخاب (entexâb)process or act of selecting
- گزینه (gozine)something selected
- برگزیده (bargozide)variety of items taken from a larger collection
Polish selekcja
- selekcjaprocess or act of selecting
Portuguese seleção, seleção
- seleçãoprocess or act of selecting
- seleçãosomething selected
- seleçãovariety of items taken from a larger collection
Romanian selectare, selecție
- selectareprocess or act of selecting
- selecțieprocess or act of selecting
- selecțiesomething selected
- selecțievariety of items taken from a larger collection
- culegerevariety of items taken from a larger collection
- alegerevariety of items taken from a larger collection
Russian вы́бор, отбо́р
- вы́бор (výbor)process or act of selecting
- отбо́р (otbór)process or act of selecting
- селе́кция (selékcija)process or act of selecting
- вы́бор (výbor)something selected
- вы́борка (výborka)variety of items taken from a larger collection
- подбо́рка (podbórka)variety of items taken from a larger collection
Scottish Gaelic taghadh
- taghadhprocess or act of selecting
Slovak výber, selekcia
- výberprocess or act of selecting
- selekciaprocess or act of selecting
- výbersomething selected
- voľbasomething selected
- výbervariety of items taken from a larger collection
Spanish selección, selección
- selecciónprocess or act of selecting
- selecciónsomething selected
Swedish urval
- urvalprocess or act of selecting
Tagalog pilian, pilian
- pilianprocess or act of selecting
- pilianvariety of items taken from a larger collection
Turkish seçme, ayırma
- seçmeprocess or act of selecting
- ayırmaprocess or act of selecting
- seçeneksomething selected
- seleksiyonsomething selected
- seçilensomething selected
- seleksiyonvariety of items taken from a larger collection
- seçilenvariety of items taken from a larger collection
Ukrainian ви́бір, відбі́р
- ви́бір (výbir)process or act of selecting
- відбі́р (vidbír)process or act of selecting
Yiddish וואַל
- וואַל (val)process or act of selecting
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with selection
sectioncollectionprotectionconnectionelectiondirectioninspectiondetectioninfectioncorrectionprojectioninjectionreflectionrejectionperfectionobjectionresurrectionerectionaffectionconvectiondissectionrecollectioncomplexiondeflection
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
selection. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selection
MLA
“selection.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selection. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “selection,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selection.
Source: selection on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.