botanist
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of botanist
1675–85; botan ( ism ) botany (< Greek botanismós, equivalent to botán ( ē ) plant + -ismos -ism ) + -ist
Explanation
Use the noun botanist to describe a biologist whose specialty is plants — the way they grow, the differences between them, and everything else that has to do with plant science. The earliest botanists, in the 1500s, began a system of classifying plants scientifically, while modern botanists study the DNA of plants as well as their uses in medicine and nutrition. The root word is botanic, from the Greek botanikos, "of herbs."
Vocabulary lists containing botanist
Because of Mr. Terupt
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Wishtree
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"The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller, List 1
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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.
"He's taken us all to places that we would never otherwise go. That's a huge gift," botanist Sandra Knapp, director of research at London's Natural History Museum, told AFP.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
Campbell is a keen botanist and has a diploma from the Royal Horticultural Society; Robertson has started learning how to mend clothes and is an avid music video fan.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
Kobe University botanist Kenji Suetsugu explains, "These interactions are fascinating because they sit on the boundary between cooperation and conflict."
From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026
It brought Chris Thorogood, a botanist at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, to tears.
From Salon • May 27, 2025
Later a botanist and member of the Florida Native Plant Society spoke to us about why native plants are so important.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
