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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Extinction \Ex*tinc"tion\, n. [L. extinctio, exstinction: cf. F.
extinction.]
1. The act of extinguishing or making extinct; a putting an
end to; the act of putting out or destroying light, fire,
life, activity, influence, etc.
[1913 Webster]

2. State of being extinguished or of ceasing to be;
destruction; suppression; as, the extinction of life, of a
family, of a quarrel, of claim.
[1913 Webster]

3. Specifically: The ceasing to exist of a species of living
organism, such as a plant or animal, whose numbers
declined to the point where the last member of the species
died and therefore no new members of the species could
ever again be born.
[PJC]

Note: Extinctions have occurred many times throughout the
history of life on Earth, and abundant evidence of the
prior existence of animals and plants are found as
fossils in rock formations many millions of years old.
It is believed by some that due to the influence of man
on the environment and destruction of habitat, the rate
of extinction of species is now higher than at any
previous time on this planet. Extinctions of some
animals in recent years have actually been reliably
recorded, such as that of the {dodo bird}. A remarkable
example of extinction is that of the {passenger pigeon}
({Ectopistes migratorius}) in North America, which once
numbered in the billions, and the last living member of
which species was recorded as dying in captivity in
1914.
[PJC]