meteorologist
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of meteorologist
First recorded in 1630–40; meteorolog(y) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )
Explanation
The expert TV reporter who presents the nightly weather forecast is a meteorologist. If you want to know if it's going to rain on your picnic this weekend, ask a meteorologist! Meteorologists get their name from the Greek meteōrologia, "discussion or study of high things." The "high thing" meteorologists study and report on is the planet's atmosphere — and the way it affects the weather. While people have tried to predict the weather for centuries, it's only recently that science has caught up with this goal, and meteorologists usually get it right.
Vocabulary lists containing meteorologist
Weather and Climate - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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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.
In the movie, Blunt plays Margaret Fairchild, a TV meteorologist chosen by extraterrestrials as the human through whom they communicate—“the last person on earth that you’d imagine would be destined for this task,” Blunt says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
According to Scott Braun, a research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the eye was relatively large compared with many tropical cyclones.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
According to Dinesh Sah, a meteorologist at the university, the district has seen temperatures of 48-49C before.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told AFP the increase in extreme temperatures was "a good indication of climate change in action" and more likely to become "the new norm".
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
“I want to be a meteorologist, like you.”
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
