science fiction

noun
1.
a form of fiction that draws imaginatively on scientific knowledge and speculation in its plot, setting, theme, etc.
Origin of science fiction
1925-30
Examples from the web for science fiction
  • Food of the future used to be the stuff of science fiction.
  • If the present state of imaginary music seems bleak, science fiction suggests a brighter future.
  • It is equally conceivable that human space flight, long the stuff of science fiction, will return to fantasy.
  • Once the fantasy of science fiction, battlefield robots are now a reality.
  • Fantasy films and science fiction also have dominated my adult life.
  • Stories have the power to take us to other worlds, and no genre more so than science fiction and fantasy.
  • In contemporary literature, high fantasy and science fiction repeat many of the same folklore themes.
  • The show borrows heavily from other science fiction sources.
  • In the annals of science fiction, humans and non-avian dinosaurs have been brought together in a variety of ways.
  • Still, space travel has lost much of its luster, and that loss has even rippled through science fiction writing.
British Dictionary definitions for science fiction

science fiction

noun
1.
  1. a literary genre that makes imaginative use of scientific knowledge or conjecture
  2. (as modifier): a science fiction writer
Word Origin and History for science fiction
n.

1929 (first attested in advertisements for "Air Wonder Stories" magazine), though there is an isolated use from 1851; abbreviated form sci-fi is from 1955. Earlier in same sense was scientifiction (1916).

science fiction in Culture

science fiction definition


Works of fiction that use scientific discoveries or advanced technology — either actual or imaginary — as part of their plot. Jules Verne and H. G. Wells were early writers of science fiction. More recent ones are Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury.