dermatologist

American  

[dur-muh-tol-uh-jist] / ˌdɜr məˈtɒl ə dʒɪst /

noun

• dermatologists
  plural

1. a specialist in dermatology, especially a doctor who specializes in the treatment of diseases of the skin.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dermatologists
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dermatologist

First recorded in 1860–65; dermatolog(y) + -ist

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Explanation

The person who examines your moles, acne, and other skin problems is called a dermatologist. Once visited mainly for acne problems, dermatologists have become more important, as skin problems have grown more common with our increased exposure to the sun. You know that an "-logy" at the end of a word means "study" and that "-logist" means "one who studies. In the noun dermatologist, the object being studied is the derma, the Greek word for "skin." (The Greeks also used it to refer to "leather" or "hide," which still works for diehard sun worshipers. And think of elephants being called "pachyderms," with their "thick skin.") Dermatology and dermatologist both appeared in English in the 19th century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dermatologist dermatologists

My dermatologist in Washington, D.C., didn’t even know a blood test could measure alpha-gal antibodies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

If you're suffering from severe acne or a severe skin problem, Dr Kentley advises getting help from your GP or a dermatologist rather than engaging with people on social media on how to manage it.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

As she crossed the border, Anna Klymenko, a dermatologist in Kyiv, saw the locomotive that Russia had destroyed the day before.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

“This is an individual-level based vaccination for somebody’s individual tumor,” said Michael Christopher, a dermatologist in Tucson, Ariz., who specializes in early detection of skin cancer.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

She was a dermatologist, midfifties, trim except for a potbelly.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

For more serious scarring, dermatologists can recommend more aggressive treatments such as lasers that probe deeper into the skin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The company said its clinical team did identify a "lesion of concern" and it was reviewed by two of its dermatologists before a referral was made for potential treatment.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

If you’re heading outside, dermatologists recommend applying sunscreen in addition to SPF cosmetics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

As of right now, dermatologists don’t know the root cause of FAPD, though they believe it might show up in midlife due to a decline in estrogen, which protects against hair follicle inflammation.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

In the morning I called the medical information service and asked for the names of some prominent dermatologists.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

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