biologist
Americannoun
-
biologists
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of biologist
Explanation
A biologist is a scientist who focuses on living organisms, including plants and animals. Wildlife biologists might specialize in studying African elephants. Biologists study a wide variety of life forms, from single-celled organisms to primates, and conduct research in many different areas, from the spreading of pathogens to the details of evolution. A marine biologist studies sea creatures and a microbiologist might study algae or bacteria. The word biologist is rooted in the Greek bios, or "life."
Vocabulary lists containing biologist
"Siberian Survivors" and "Tigers in the Wild"
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: bio
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Unit 18, Lesson 3
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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:
This concept, known as antagonistic pleiotropy, was proposed by biologist Peter Medawar in 1952 as an explanation for aspects of aging.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
When Peter shared their findings with other researchers, a fellow biologist was skeptical of Peter’s claim that a tiny difference in beak size could determine whether a finch lives or dies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Pete Bloom, a raptor biologist who helped band the newcomer, says there’s a very good chance the bald eagles will make a go at starting a family in a few months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Year 10 pupil Ethan, from Budehaven Community School, wants to become a marine biologist and recently completed a work experience placement at a seal sanctuary that was a three-hour round trip by car.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
He had thought he might end up as biologist or a mathematician.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
For more than six decades, evolutionary biologists have debated whether an unusual genetic system shared by ants, bees and wasps helped drive one of nature's most sophisticated forms of social organization: eusociality.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Its variety and complexity has fascinated biologists, but with so many different songs, it has been difficult to study on a global scale.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
As they do yearly, Marine biologists and wildlife officials urge fans to respect Neil’s privacy and let him molt: The more peace he gets, the more we can look forward to his next visit.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
Using such data, biologists have determined that kinkajous—a Panamanian tree-dwelling honey bear that resembles the lemur—take the same route every day from their home trees to their food sources, down to the exact same branches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
A generation of young biologists was now rifling through Darwin’s works to find clues to the theory that had gone missing.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
