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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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; see 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.
See Examples For:
Protein mass is typically expressed in daltons, a unit named after English chemist John Dalton.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
“Regular people get exposed to those kind of things regularly in their daily life,” said Beizhan Yan, a Columbia environmental chemist and a co-author of the study.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Pendlebury also told AFP he felt that research on solar cells was "overdue" for a prize, with German-born Swiss chemist Michael Gratzel named as a top contender.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
People can be referred to their local pharmacy via NHS111 or by their GP, or just go direct to their high street chemist.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
In addition to being the mission's chemist, he was also an accomplished astrophysicist.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
US chemists David Allara and Ralph Nuzzo along with Israel's Jacob Sagiv would then be favourites.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Perhaps the most striking is the story of Compound E, an adrenal hormone isolated by the Mayo Clinic biochemist Edward Kendall in 1935 and later synthesized with great difficulty by Tishler and other Merck chemists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Understanding how electrons are distributed through those structures can help chemists explain why molecules have particular properties and why they undergo certain chemical reactions.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Patients can be treated for 27 different conditions at chemists in Scotland.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Two thousand pharmacologists and bio chemists were subsidized in A.F. 178.”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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