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Definitions

ancestor

[an-ses-ter, -suh-ster] / ˈæn sɛs tər, -sə stər /


Example Sentences

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I teach my students about Didion’s ancestor, Nancy Hardin Cornwall, who trekked westward with the Donner-Reed party in 1846.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Canada, on the other hand, has done exactly the opposite: If you have a direct ancestor born across the northern border, no matter how far back, you probably qualify.

From Salon • May 31, 2026

Scientists are still unsure whether these shared traits come from a common ancestor or from similar environmental pressures shaping their evolution.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2026

"It's mind-boggling that our pineal gland's ability to regulate our sleep according to light stems from the cyclopean median eye of a distant ancestor 600 million years ago," concludes Dan-E Nilsson.

From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026

That problem also derailed domestication of North American bighorn sheep, which belong to the same genus as Asiatic mouflon sheep, ancestor of our domestic sheep.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond




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