civil engineer

American  

noun

• civil engineers
  plural

1. a person who designs public works, as roads, bridges, canals, dams, and harbors, or supervises their construction or maintenance.

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civil engineer British  

noun

1. a person qualified to design, construct, and maintain public works, such as roads, bridges, harbours, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• civil engineering
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• civil engineers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of civil engineer

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

civil engineer

Myerscough, a civil engineer, said the painstaking process of fossil hunting helped his worries and stresses to "melt away".

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

"I woke up this morning and I didn't have to carry my ID anymore," Maria Jesus Walda, a 34-year-old civil engineer, told AFP as she headed into Gibraltar.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

An immigrant from Colombia, he works as a civil engineer specializing in bridge construction, and was deemed to “perform services of exceptional merit and ability” by the federal government.

From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026

Many Nepalese say that Balen, a civil engineer, could extend the success he had as mayor of Kathmandu to the rest of the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026

He was a civil engineer and a geologist, with a special interest in landslides.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone