extinction

n. extinguishment; annihilation, total destruction

In biology and ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a species or group of taxa, reducing biodiversity. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species (although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point). Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "re-appears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence.
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Noun
1. no longer in existence; "the extinction of a species"
(synonym) defunctness
(hypernym) death
2. no longer active; extinguished; "the extinction of the volcano"
(hypernym) inaction, inactivity, inactiveness
(attribute) extinct, inactive
3. the reduction of the intensity of radiation as a consequence of absorption and radiation
(hypernym) natural process, natural action, action, activity
(part-meronym) absorption
4. complete annihilation; "they think a meteor cause the extinction of the dinosaurs"
(synonym) extermination
(hypernym) annihilation, disintegration
(derivation) eliminate, annihilate, extinguish, eradicate, wipe out, decimate, carry off
5. a conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus
(synonym) experimental extinction
(hypernym) conditioning
6. the act of extinguishing; causing to stop burning; "the extinction of the lights"
(synonym) extinguishing, quenching
(hypernym) termination, ending, conclusion
(derivation) snuff out, blow out, extinguish, quench

n. extinction, extinguishment; annihilation, total destruction

(n.)
The act of extinguishing or making extinct; a putting an end to; the act of putting out or destroying light, fire, life, activity, influence, etc.
  

(n.)
State of being extinguished or of ceasing to be; destruction; suppression; as, the extinction of life, of a family, of a quarrel, of claim.