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

Derived 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

For their imaginative daring, co-directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch were justly honored as were costume designer Qween Jean and choreographers Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, among the production’s notable awards.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Like Marcus, Xavier and Dakorien hired local tailors to custom make their prom suits, then bought designer shoes to match.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

The tech giant has co-developed its tensor processing units with Broadcom for more than a decade, but has reportedly been looking to work with the Taiwanese chip designer on future generations.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

I keep referencing this quote about Yohji Yamamoto, a designer whom she wore frequently.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

Daniel was a website designer who worked from home.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Related Words

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