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
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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.
In the immediate aftermath of the brutal 1989 crackdown on students who had protested in Tiananmen Square, dissident astrophysicist Fang Lizhi sought refuge in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
These discoveries could fundamentally change our understanding of the structure of our universe, said astrophysicist Julie McEnery, who led the Roman project.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Among them was astronomer and astrophysicist Ernst Öpik.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
A Rutgers astrophysicist is helping investigate a strange cosmic event that has left astronomers searching for answers.
From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026
Altogether, the abstract was, in the words of Caltech astrophysicist Kip S. Thorne, "one of the most prescient documents in the history of physics and astronomy."
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.
