hundreds of generations

USAGE SUMMARY

'hundreds of generations' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when describing something that has existed for a long time. For example: The small village we visited has been passed down through hundreds of generations.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

You can't exactly hang around for hundreds of generations to see what works, and what doesn't.

MIT Technology Review

Over hundreds of generations, the region has seen multiple periods of huge population and rapid depopulation.

The Washington Post

And beneath all these layers is the land that Native Americans occupied for hundreds of generations from their first arrival eleven thousand years ago.

Yale University

He also saw himself as a link in a long chain of hundreds of generations of Jews, and wanted to see the chain continue.

Yale University

"That's incredibly fast". Under natural selection, a beneficial gene may take hundreds of generations to reach high frequencies in a population, he added.

Cornell University

Running the virtual robots through hundreds of generations, they discovered something remarkable: the robots behaved just as Hamilton had predicted species would.

MIT Technology Review

At the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr Valerie Curtis believes our feelings of disgust have helped keep us safe for hundreds of generations.

BBC

A whole family of bacteria with the message can be created, and even after hundreds of generations, the message was still intact.

Forbes

We adapted these two phages across serial flask transfers for hundreds of generations to identify the mechanisms and generality of evolution to an optimal lysis time.

BMC Evolutionary Biology

An ideal fossil record would span the last few hundred to few thousand years in order to detect changes over tens to hundreds of generations.

BMC Ecology

As a result, over hundreds of generations, two mating phenotypes emerged in the simulations.

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "hundreds of generations" to emphasize a long, continuous lineage or the accumulation of changes over a significant period.

Common error

Avoid using "hundreds of generations" when referring to shorter or less significant timeframes. Ensure the context genuinely implies a substantial duration and successive lineages.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "hundreds of generations" functions as a noun phrase. It typically acts as an adverbial modifier, specifying the extent or duration of a process, event, or characteristic, such as the evolution of a species, as Ludwig examples suggest.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

37%

News & Media

35%

Academia

28%

Less common in

Wiki

3%

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "hundreds of generations" is a grammatically sound and frequently used expression, particularly in scientific, academic, and news-related contexts. It effectively conveys the idea of a long duration involving successive lineages. Ludwig AI confirms its usability in written English. When using this phrase, it's important to ensure the context genuinely represents a substantial timeframe. Alternative phrases such as ""many centuries"" or ""long ancestral history"" can be used depending on the specific nuance desired.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

for countless generations

Synonymous, but with an emphasis on the immeasurable number of generations.

long ancestral history

Directly refers to the extended past and familial connections.

deep-rooted ancestry

Stresses the established and long-standing nature of family origins.

many centuries

Focuses on a specific time frame, measured in centuries rather than generations.

age-old heritage

Highlights the legacy and traditions passed down through time.

numerous lineages

Emphasizes the succession of family lines over an extended time.

extended periods of heredity

Focuses on the transmission of traits across many instances of inheritance.

several eras

Highlights distinct periods of history rather than familial descent.

vast spans of time

Emphasizes the duration but doesn't specifically relate to generational succession.

multiple successions

Focuses on the sequence of events or rulers, rather than biological lineage.

FAQs

How can I use "hundreds of generations" in a sentence?

You can use "hundreds of generations" to describe something that has been passed down or evolved over a very long period. For example, "This tradition has been maintained for "hundreds of generations"".

What are some alternatives to "hundreds of generations"?

Alternatives include "many centuries", "numerous lineages", or "long ancestral history", depending on the specific meaning you want to convey.

Is it correct to say "hundred of generations" instead of "hundreds of generations"?

No, "hundred of generations" is grammatically incorrect. The correct form is ""hundreds of generations"" to indicate a plural number of centuries.

What does "hundreds of generations" imply about a population or lineage?

It suggests a long-term continuity and the accumulation of changes, adaptations, or traditions over an extended period of hereditary succession.