dentist
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of dentist
1750–60; < French dentiste, equivalent to dent tooth ( dent 2 ) + -iste -ist
Explanation
A dentist is a doctor who specializes in teeth, gums, and the mouth. If you get a bad toothache, you should probably go to the dentist to make sure you don't have a cavity. When you visit the dentist, you might have your teeth and gums examined and cleaned, or you may need surgery for an impacted wisdom tooth or x-rays to make sure you don't have cavities. Dentists are health care professionals who attend dental school and train for several years before practicing. Dentist comes from the French dentiste, from dent. or "tooth."
Vocabulary lists containing dentist
Body Language: Dent, Dont ("Tooth")
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ist
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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.
"We're caught between three mad powers, and war is terrifying," the 46-year-old dentist told AFP journalists outside Iran.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
A newly minted dentist earns around $150,000 or more, but student loans eat up a lot of their take-home pay, especially in the early years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
The median general-practitioner dentist income fell 13.2% in inflation-adjusted terms in the five-year period that ended in 2024 from the prior five-year period, according to the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
"We had a great NHS dentist where I used to live," she told me.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
He held out his hand, and his voice was calm like it was when he told her she had to get three teeth pulled at the dentist last year.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
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.
