alpinist
Americannoun
-
a mountain climber, especially in the Alps.
-
a downhill skier, especially one engaging in competitive slalom and downhill events.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of alpinist
From the French word alpiniste, dating back to 1880–85. See alpine, -ist
Explanation
If you're a serious mountain climber, you can call yourself an alpinist. A leisurely hike won't earn you the title of alpinist. Climbing Mount Everest? That's another story. As opposed to a casual climber of relatively low-altitude mountains, an alpinist is extremely serious about his or her climbing. If your sister is an alpinist, she probably sets her sights on extremely high mountains, like those in the Andes, the Himalayas, or the Alps. In fact, the Alps, which lie within the boundaries of Europe, are the inspiration for the word alpinist, which specifies a climber of high, long-ranging, and ice-covered mountain ranges like the Alps themselves.
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.
"If you are only interested in the height of the peak then there are limited mountains to climb," French alpinist and veteran expedition leader Paulo Grobel told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025
"He's had probably one of the most impressive last six months of climbing of anyone I can think of," veteran alpinist Clint Helander told the Anchorage Daily News in July.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
Billy Pierson, an experienced alpinist, was in California getting in shape for an upcoming trip to Nepal, according to a comment his brother, Steve Pierson, left on Facebook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025
Born in Bellingham, Leen was an avid Cascades climber who put up routes with legendary Washington alpinist Fred Beckey.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
Fischer told me that he thought Lopsang had the potential to be “the second coming of Reinhold Messner”—the famous Tyrolean alpinist who is far and away the greatest Himalayan climber of all time.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
