ecologist
Americannoun
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a scientist or researcher whose field of study involves the relationships and interactions between organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem ecologists study how nutrients, energy, and water flow through an ecosystem.
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an environmentalist.
Like climate change activists and ecologists around the world, I feel passionately that the issue is crucial to the long-term well-being of the human race.
Etymology
Origin of ecologist
Explanation
An ecologist is a scientist who studies how animals and plants interact with their environment. If you spend hours watching television shows about animals, maybe you’ve got an ecologist inside you trying to get out. To be an ecologist, first you have to learn about ecology — the study of organisms and how they relate to their environment. Ecology is a word that comes from the Greek oikos, meaning “house.” Basically, ecologists study the environment like it’s a big house, and all the living creatures in it are roommates. Sounds like a lot of work, and it is.
Vocabulary lists containing ecologist
Florida EOC Biology 1
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Unit 1: Ecological Systems
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
Begun in 2015, Canadian forest ecologist Simard’s “Mother Tree Project” has studied the effects of logging on forests.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
While heavy winter rain is normal for the region, Prof Dave Hodgson - an ecologist at the University of Exeter's Cornwall campus - said the volume and persistence this season felt "a bit apocalyptic".
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026
Thousands of birds and seahorses were killed as a result, ecologist Vladyslav Belinsky said.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
“We keep seeing these oak groves getting infested and declining, and a lot of oak mortality,” said Beatriz Nobua-Behrmann, an ecologist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, or UCANR.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2026
"The earth,” wrote the pioneering fire ecologist Edward V Komarek, "born in fire, baptized by lightning, since before life’s beginning has been and is, a fire planet.”
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
