archaeologist
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of archaeologist
Explanation
An archaeologist is a scientist who studies human history by digging up human remains and artifacts. Lucy, the oldest human known to man — nearly 3.2 million years old — was dug up in Ethiopia by archaeologist. We know about the history of the human species thanks to archaeologists who spend countless hours sifting through dirt and digging through ruins to find evidence of human life from across time. The word archaeologist can also be spelled archeologist. It comes from the Greek root archaeo-, for "ancient, primitive."
Vocabulary lists containing archaeologist
Play by the Rules: Arch
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Occupations
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The Origins of Civilization, Lessons 1–2
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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.
“There’s a lot of unknowns,” said Sasha Travaglio, a spokesperson for the Santa Rosa Island fire Burned Area Emergency Response team, which includes a hydrologist, a soil scientist, an archaeologist, a paleontologist and a botanist.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Jack Caskey and Jerome Sperling, who would play significant roles on the Greek Desk, were chided for their rule-following, caution and seriousness, qualities that any sensible archaeologist might otherwise aspire to.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
The presence of foreign teams is "crucial", said Aqeel al-Mansrawi, an Iraqi landscape archaeologist.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
At this point an archaeologist was called, who discovered the skeleton beneath where the altar table had stood 200 years ago.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
According to William Woods, the geographer and archaeologist at the University of Kansas, Monks Mound completely covers whatever habitation these people had before they built Cahokia.
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.
