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geneticist

American  
[juh-net-uh-sist] / dʒəˈnɛt ə sɪst /

noun

  • geneticists
    plural
  1. a specialist or expert in genetics.


geneticist British  
/ dʒɪˈnɛtɪsɪst /

noun

  1. a person who studies or specializes in genetics

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of geneticist

First recorded in 1910–15; genetic + -ist

Explanation

A geneticist is a scientist who studies the traits that are passed from parents to their offspring. If you're fascinated with DNA, you might want to be a geneticist. Genetics is the branch of biology that focuses on genes, and it's practiced by geneticists. These scientists study the way genes are passed from one generation to the next, including how they vary or mutate. Some geneticists work with plants, improving their genetic resistance to disease or pests; others counsel patients who have inherited diseases or conditions. Geneticist is from genetics, originally defined as "pertaining to origins," from the Greek root genesis, "origin."

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Vocabulary lists containing geneticist

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Clinical geneticist Dr. Xiao P. Peng, who helped confirm Hinken’s family’s diagnoses, said the tools still make mistakes and are better at generating possible leads, translating complex medical jargon and compiling research than making diagnoses.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 15, 2026

Powell, the geneticist in Indiana, is a cancer biologist by training and has heard similar claims before.

From Slate Mar. 30, 2026

It wasn’t just the incident with the gown, or the geneticist assuring me that prostate cancer would be my major BRCA-related concern.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 17, 2026

This earlier study drew the attention of a medical geneticist in Europe who had encountered two patients with unexplained muscle weakness and coordination problems.

From Science Daily Nov. 6, 2025

These novel insects, named Blatella asmithicus after the geneticist responsible for creating them, Dr. Andrew Smith, measure nearly a meter in length, and have an astounding resiliency and immunity to all known toxins.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Colossal Biosciences’ claim to have achieved the ‘de-extinction’ of the dire wolf has been questioned by geneticists, but the media swallowed the claim whole.

From Los Angeles Times May 21, 2026

But the new study from geneticists at the University of Pennsylvania suggests the phenomenon has more social origins, and were actually the result of "long-standing mating preferences."

From Barron's Feb. 26, 2026

When the Romans left, Anglo-Saxon place names replaced Celtic ones, but geneticists estimate that in the parts of England closest to Germany, only about 10% of the population were Anglo-Saxon.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 23, 2026

Davies also explained how research included consulting geneticists and revisiting the history of the Sea Devils and how Homo Aqua "could have branched off from mankind millions of years ago".

From BBC Dec. 9, 2025

“He was one of the top geneticists on the Snow White Project.”

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

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