genus

IPA/ˈdʒiːnəs/
KK[dʒˈinəs]IPA/ˈdʒiːnəs/

genus — noun

  • genussingular
  • generaplural

1. In biology, a level of scientific classification that groups together species sh

1.nounB2
Definition

In biology, a level of scientific classification that groups together species sharing very similar features. A genus sits above the level of species and below the level of family.

Example

The genus Rosa includes hundreds of species of rose found across the Northern Hemisphere.

genus + of + plural noun naming a group

Biologists classified the newly discovered orchid into a genus first described in the 1830s.

passive: classified into a genus

Common collocations
  • same genus
  • different genus
  • closely related genus
  • genus name
  • species within a genus
  • classified into a genus
Synonyms
  • group

    broader and less precise; used in everyday language

  • class

    a general category in any classification system

  • category

    a more general term for any division of things

Antonyms
  • species

    the specific level below genus; a genus contains one or more species

Grammar Patterns

genus + of + plural noun phrase

Usage Note

In formal biological taxonomy, genus names are capitalised and italicised (e.g., Homo sapiens). The irregular plural is genera, not 'genuses'.

Common Mistakes

The lion belongs to the genus Panthera leo.
The lion belongs to the species Panthera leo, within the genus Panthera.
Genus is the broader category that contains multiple species; never use genus to refer to a single species.
There are many genuses of beetles.
There are many genera of beetles.
The plural of genus is genera (Latin origin), not genuses.

2. A broad category or class of things that share a common quality or feature, espe

2.nounC1
Definition

A broad category or class of things that share a common quality or feature, especially in literature, art, or philosophy.

Example

This new style of music belongs to a different genus from the classical tradition.

genus + of + abstract noun (formal)

The two novels, though different in style, belong to the same genus of political fiction.

Common collocations
  • genus of literature
  • new genus of
  • same genus of
  • different genus of
Synonyms
  • type

    everyday word for a category; far more common than genus

  • kind

    informal, used in everyday speech for any grouping

  • class

    a group sharing similar qualities, used across formal and informal contexts

  • category

    a neutral term for any division in a classification

Grammar Patterns

genus + of + noun

Usage Note

This sense is formal and appears mainly in academic or literary discussion. In everyday English, type, kind, or category are far more common and sound more natural.

Common Mistakes

I like this genus of music.
I like this type of music.
In ordinary conversation, type or kind is more natural than genus.

Word family

  • generic
    adjectiveB2
  • genera
    nounC1
  • genericize
    verbC1
  • generically
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

In biological taxonomy, genus, species, and family are nested ranks from narrower to broader: a species sits within a genus, and a genus within a family. In ordinary language, people often confuse genus with species — for example, saying 'the lion genus' when they mean 'the lion species.' Class is broader still and can be used both in biology (e.g., Mammalia) and in general classification. For everyday reference to categories, type and kind are more natural than any of the taxonomic terms. A writer describing a new artistic movement might call it a 'new genus' of film — but that is a deliberate, formal metaphor, not everyday speech.

genus ↗species ↗family ↗class ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • belongs to the same genus
  • classified into a genus
  • a genus of plants
  • within the genus

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Borrowed directly from Latin genus, meaning 'birth, origin, race, stock, or kind.' It entered English scientific writing in the mid-17th century and took on its precise biological meaning in the 18th century through the work of Carl Linnaeus. The same Latin root gives English gender, genre, general, and generate — all sharing the core idea of 'kind or origin.'