astrophysicist
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Explanation
An astrophysicist is a scientist who specializes in studying space, stars, planets, and the universe. If you want to be an astrophysicist one day, you'll have to pay close attention in your physics class. Today the terms astrophysicist and astronomer tend to be used interchangeably — if you make a career of being an expert on space, you'll need to know a lot about the physics of celestial bodies. The prefix astro- comes from the Greek word astron, "the stars," and physicist is rooted in physics, or "natural science," from ta physika, "the natural things" in Greek.
Vocabulary lists containing astrophysicist
Words from "The Avengers"
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astro, aster
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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.
Snyder drove to the nearby home of Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, who went outside to his front porch to see what was going on, according to a Los Angeles County district attorney’s office news release.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
Among them was astronomer and astrophysicist Ernst Öpik.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
In 2024, a theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Kansas proposed a solution that explained much of this unusual "zebra" pattern.
From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026
Its first title, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter,” is expected to be published in May.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
The term supernova was coined in the 1930s by a memorably odd astrophysicist named Fritz Zwicky.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
