Selection means choosing one or more things from a larger group of options. When your teacher asks you to make a selection* from the classroom library, you're picking which book to read from all the available books. When a coach makes team selections, they're deciding which players will be in the starting lineup.

The word appears everywhere choices happen. A restaurant offers a selection of desserts. A store advertises its wide selection of board games. In science class, you might learn about natural selection, the process where animals and plants with helpful traits are more likely to survive and pass those traits to their offspring. Charles Darwin realized that nature “selects” which creatures thrive based on how well they fit their environment, just like a gardener selects which seeds to plant.

The act of choosing is also called selecting. When you select your clothes for the day, you're making choices about what to wear. Libraries use a selection process to decide which new books to buy. Being selective means being careful and thoughtful about your choices rather than just picking randomly. A selective eater thinks carefully about food, and selective colleges accept only some of the students who apply.