nature
part of speech
noun (nature; a person's nature, natures)
meaning for a pupil
1) Nature is everything in the world not made by people: plants, animals, rocks, rivers, the sky and the weather. tree →
2) A person's or animal's nature is what they are usually like inside, their character. tree →
3) The nature of something is what kind of thing it is. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and outdoor lessons, children go on nature walks, keep nature journals and learn to protect nature. In stories, «it's in his nature» means it is how he always is. Phrases: in nature, nature walk, nature reserve, nature trail, Mother Nature, human nature, by nature, second nature.
examples
- We went on a nature walk and saw a hedgehog. tree →
- Leaves, birds and rivers are all part of nature. tree →
- Please don't drop litter; we must look after nature. tree →
- It's in a cat's nature to chase mice. tree →
- She is kind by nature. tree →
- The park has a nature trail through the woods. tree →
- In nature, nothing goes to waste. tree →
- Riding a bike becomes second nature after a while. tree →
- The laws of nature are unchangeable. tree →
note
Usually uncountable and without «the» when it means the natural world: «I love nature», not «I love the nature». Adjective: natural. «Human nature» means how people normally behave.
In the corpora
- Documentaries are films about real life, like nature, history or sport, and the best ones are as gripping as any story.
- Real dogs and cats are not enemies by nature.
- The cliff story spread from a 1958 nature film in which people pushed lemmings off a cliff for the camera.
- Jane Goodall spent her life protecting chimps and teaching children about nature, until she died in 2025.
- They film what happens, even when it is sad, because nature has to take its course.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «nature» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.