Taxon: meaning, definitions and examples

Used primarily in biological or scientific contexts to refer to a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit.

• The genus Homo is a well-known taxon in anthropology.
• Birds are classified as a taxon within the animal kingdom.

Used in general contexts to represent a class or division of people or things regarded as having particular shared characteristics.

• Books in the library are sorted into different categories based on their genre.
• Under which category does this expense fall?

Can be used in both scientific and everyday contexts to mean a number of people or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.

• A group of friends met at the café.
• In chemistry, elements are arranged into groups on the periodic table.

Often used in systematic contexts where items, such as organisms, are arranged or sorted into classes or groups based on specific criteria.

• The classification of plants includes several ranks such as family, genus, and species.
• The new classification system makes it easier to find related documents.