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:
Linus Pauling was a chemist from the United States who won two Nobel Prizes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Then Yale chemist Benjamin Silliman Jr. showed how crude oil could be fractionated into various liquids, one of which was kerosene, an excellent illuminant that was much cheaper than whale oil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Ramón Pagán, a cosmetic chemist and independent consultant based in New York City, sees another force helping drive tallow’s popularity: branding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Prior to arriving at the home David, a former industrial chemist who is originally from Bradford, lived in France for almost 20 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
No effort, however, was required to see that my laboratory manipulations were less skillful than those of a Swiss chemist.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Organic chemists routinely study chains of atoms that form the molecular foundations of medicines, advanced materials, agrochemicals, polymers and many other technologies used in everyday life.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Patients can be treated for 27 different conditions at chemists in Scotland.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Now, chemists at Northwestern University have solved that long standing mystery.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
So there was an overnight operation of chemists and first responders sent in to try to get that done, which was attempted even though it put them “in harm’s way,” Covey said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
Maurice, in a lab devoid of structural chemists, did not have anyone about to tell him that all the textbook pictures were wrong.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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.
