civil engineer

American  

noun

• civil engineers
  plural

1. a person who designs public works, as roads, bridges, canals, dams, and harbors, or supervises their construction or maintenance.

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civil engineer British  

noun

1. a person qualified to design, construct, and maintain public works, such as roads, bridges, harbours, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• civil engineering
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• civil engineers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of civil engineer

First recorded in 1785–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

civil engineer

Liz Senator, 28, a civil engineer from Atlanta, sees plenty of negative news and social-media posts about the economy, and some of her friends have struggled with long stretches of unemployment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

"I woke up this morning and I didn't have to carry my ID anymore," Maria Jesus Walda, a 34-year-old civil engineer, told AFP as she headed into Gibraltar.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

An immigrant from Colombia, he works as a civil engineer specializing in bridge construction, and was deemed to “perform services of exceptional merit and ability” by the federal government.

From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026

Kathryn Masters, a civil engineer, said the rally was her first “No Kings” event.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

So I told her about William Mulholland, who was a self-taught civil engineer.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

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