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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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.
Gibson’s character C Hemingway on Fox’s “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” is also trans, something he discloses at work as a forensic anthropologist reconstructing the faces of people disappeared.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
Strong, who is an anthropologist, said she was dismayed by the "massive increase" in reports and there are a "combination of factors" contributing to why that may be.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
As a political anthropologist I study the Patriot movement, a collection of anti-government right-wing groups that include the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Moms for Liberty.
From Salon • Dec. 30, 2025
"It made me question my role as an anthropologist and a doctor," he told AFP.
From Barron's • Dec. 28, 2025
In the early 1960s, Henry F. Dobyns, a young anthropologist working on a rural-aid project in Peru, dispatched assistants to storehouses of old records throughout the country.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
