designer
Americannoun
-
a person who devises or executes designs, especially one who creates forms, structures, and patterns, as for works of art or machines.
-
a schemer, intriguer, or plotter.
adjective
-
designed or created by or carrying a label or identification of a designer, especially a fashion designer, but often mass-produced.
designer jeans.
-
created for intentional effect through chemical or genetic modification, as for a designer drug, or through crossbreeding, as for a designer dog.
noun
-
a person who devises and executes designs, as for works of art, clothes, machines, etc
-
(modifier) designed by and bearing the label or signature of a well-known fashion designer
designer jeans
-
(modifier) (of things, ideas, etc) having an appearance of fashionable trendiness
designer pop songs
designer stubble
-
(modifier) (of cells, chemicals, etc) designed (or produced) to perform a specific function or combat a specific problem
designer insecticide
-
(modifier) (of an animal) cross-bred for a specific purpose, such as looks, temperament, or likelihood of causing an allergy
designer dogs
-
a person who devises plots or schemes; intriguer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of designer
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.
Vocabulary lists containing designer
Occupations
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Engineering - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Academy Awards, List 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Minho picks Ruby, a 28-year-old designer whose gentle demeanour matches his.
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026
The bears "are in the wrong place. They are wild beasts; they are not pets for us to be able to say that we live together," the 53-year-old graphic designer said.
From Barron's • Jul. 9, 2026
Metal Gear and Death Stranding designer Hideo Kojima weighed in over the weekend, warning at a film-festival panel in Italy that the implications of this decision are “frightening.”
From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026
The practical effect, according to Fred Vogler, who has been the Bowl’s principal sound designer since 2003, is startling.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2026
I don’t think designer cleats are a thing.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
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.
