designer

American  

[dih-zahy-ner] / dɪˈzaɪ nər /

noun

1. a person who devises or executes designs, especially one who creates forms, structures, and patterns, as for works of art or machines.

2. a schemer, intriguer, or plotter.

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adjective

1. designed or created by or carrying a label or identification of a designer, especially a fashion designer, but often mass-produced.

   designer jeans.

2. created for intentional effect through chemical or genetic modification, as for a designer drug, or through crossbreeding, as for a designer dog.

designer British  

/ dɪˈzaɪnə /

noun

1. a person who devises and executes designs, as for works of art, clothes, machines, etc

2. (modifier) designed by and bearing the label or signature of a well-known fashion designer

   designer jeans

3. (modifier) (of things, ideas, etc) having an appearance of fashionable trendiness

   designer pop songs

   designer stubble

4. (modifier) (of cells, chemicals, etc) designed (or produced) to perform a specific function or combat a specific problem

   designer insecticide

5. (modifier) (of an animal) cross-bred for a specific purpose, such as looks, temperament, or likelihood of causing an allergy

   designer dogs

6. a person who devises plots or schemes; intriguer

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Other Word Forms

• self-designer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of designer

First recorded in 1640–50; design + -er ¹

Explanation

A designer is a person who plans how something will look. An architect is a designer of buildings, drawing detailed blueprints indicating what the structures should look like and how they should be built. The word designer came into English in the seventeenth century meaning "one who schemes." The word soon came to describe someone who figures out how something should look, especially something artistic. If you're reading a newspaper, a graphic designer planned how the text and images should look on each page. You might also be familiar with a fashion designer, someone who comes up with a vision for a garment and creates sketches to show what the finished product will look like.

Example Sentences

It also abandoned its typical modus operandi by bringing in former Apple designer Jony Ive and his team, instead of relying solely on Ferrari’s in-house crew.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

Early on at MSU, Rudisill worked as a graphic designer for the Honors College, creating print and digital materials.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

While the brand developed many of the components in-house, the Luce's design was entrusted to the LoveFrom collective of Jony Ive, who designed many of Apple's most iconic products, and industrial designer Marc Newson.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

A search of the property also found £3805 stacked in elastic bands, a Cartier watch and designer clothes.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

In the midst of all this, as the workload increased, Burnham realized he could put off no longer the hiring of a designer to replace his beloved John Root.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• architect
• author
• engineer
• fashion designer
• inventor
• maker
• planner
• producer