ethologist
Americannoun
Explanation
A scientist who studies how animals behave is an ethologist. Are you fascinated by the waggle dance that bees do to show other bees where to find food? You might want to consider becoming an ethologist! A zoologist who specializes in animal behaviors is an ethologist, and their field is called ethology. These scientists are interested in the characteristic behaviors of different animals, especially how they act in their natural environments. An ethologist might study courtship rituals among various species, compare the way birds express aggression, or investigate animals that exhibit altruistic behavior. The word ethologist derives from the Greek ethos, "character."
Vocabulary lists containing ethologist
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.
Yet studies show that flat-faced dogs possess “kindchenschema” or “baby schema,” a term coined by ethologist Konrad Lorenz to describe infantile features that elicit caregiving reactions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science,” the Jane Goodall Institute said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2025
“They have a lot of fur, so it was not easy to understand where their necks were,” says lead author Erika Zaid, an ethologist at La Trobe.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 25, 2024
“It is really surprising that nobody else noticed this before,” says Patrizia d’Ettorre, an ethologist at Sorbonne Paris North University, France.
From Scientific American • Dec. 2, 2022
Others, like Niko Tinbergen, another very famous early ethologist, do experiments out in the place where the animals live.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
