noun
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a shop selling medicines, cosmetics, etc
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a qualified dispenser of prescribed medicines
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a person studying, trained in, or engaged in chemistry
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an obsolete word for alchemist
Other Word Forms
- nonchemist noun
Etymology
Origin of chemist
First recorded in 1555–65; from Greek chēm(ía) (also chēmeía, chymeía ) “art of alloying metals; alchemy” + -ist; replacing chymist, from Medieval Latin alchimista; alchemist ( def. )
Explanation
A scientist who studies the elements that make up all matter is a chemist. If you enjoy doing experiments that involve mixing substances in test tubes, you'd probably love being a chemist. Chemists practice the science of chemistry, which examines the properties that make up everything in the universe. These working scientists examine the tiniest particles of substances, the atoms and molecules that form the earth, the oceans, and even you, yourself. Chemists also study how elements interact with each other and form new substances; we have chemists to thank for inventing penicillin, plastic, and artificial sweeteners, among many other things.
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.
Lavallo is referring to Ronald Breslow, a Columbia University chemist who proposed in 1958 that vitamin B1 could transform into a carbene to enable key biochemical reactions.
From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026
"Some of the SPF testing, I feel, has become a bit more of a marketing exercise than a real reflection of efficacy," cosmetic chemist Michelle Wong told the BBC last year.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
Paul Tchinnis remembers thinking when he started there as a chemist.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
Reisner added: "As a chemist, you only need one or two good days a year -- and those can come from a failed experiment."
From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026
It’s one of those white, knee-length clinical sort of garments that all chemist assistants seem to wear.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
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.
