archaeologist
Americannoun
-
archaeologists
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
"The discoveries from the excavations, especially coins bearing Homer's likeness, show us that the inhabitants of ancient Smyrna considered the poet to be one of their own," archaeologist Mehmet Akif Erdem said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Ran Honglin, the lead archaeologist at the site, had long believed there was more to Sanxingdui—whose name means “Three Star Mound,” a reference to a nearby topographic feature—than the two sacrificial pits found in 1986.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
John Bolton, an archaeologist, was visiting the 11th Century Pembroke Castle in 2010 when he heard there was a cave beneath it.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Stables is entirely self-taught as an archaeologist and began excavating the site out of a personal fascination with the village's prehistoric past.
From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026
In addition, Professor Oikonomou was named the official archaeologist of the project and assigned the task of overseeing the operation.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
The workplace at the center of “Dig” is an excavation site in Greece, where Poehler’s Elise is among a team of archaeologists that unearths a rare artifact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Sarkis Khoury, head of antiquities at Lebanon's culture ministry, told AFP the war had forced archaeologists to switch tack.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
The archaeologists built sterile, temporary structures with temperature and humidity controls, and lowered experts clad in head-to-toe medical gowns into the pits atop bedlike platforms so as to minimize contact with the artifacts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
In his role as director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, Quilici says he is in talks with archaeologists to introduce more shade-providing vegetation.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Before the Cape Gelidonya excavation took place, historians and archaeologists believed that Bronze Age Greeks known as Mycenaeans had monopolized merchant seafaring along the Mediterranean from about 1400 to 1200 BCE.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
