anthropologist
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of anthropologist
First recorded in 1790–1800; anthropolog(y) + -ist
Explanation
If you like to go people watching and enjoy studying the ways that humans behave, then you might be a future anthropologist. Anthropologists are people that practice anthropology, which is the study of humanity. Basically they want to figure out what makes humans human. An anthropologist might be interested in everything from the traditions of a tribe on a remote island to the culture of an urban community and everything in between. Biological anthropologists spend their time with fossils and artifacts trying to figure out how early humans might have behaved and what makes us different from other primates.
Vocabulary lists containing anthropologist
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Speak
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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.
And the one by Forbes’ Randall Lane, self-proclaimed anthropologist of billionaires, about why the world needs them.
From Slate • May 8, 2026
An animated trailer appears to draw on the story of Korean students whose singing of the song US anthropologist Alice Fletcher recorded on a cylinder phonograph in Washington in 1896.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
“The vaquero had to reinvent techniques and strategies in a completely new context,” said Héctor Medina Miranda, a Mexican anthropologist and author.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
It was Margaret Mead, a pioneering anthropologist from the US, who coined the term "post-menopausal zest", more than 70 years ago.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026
It is thought that the oldest surviving field recordings are those made in 1889 among the Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine, by American anthropologist Jesse Walter Fewkes.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
