generalist

[ jen-er-uh-list ]

/ ˈdʒɛn ər ə lɪst /

noun

a person whose knowledge, aptitudes, and skills are applied to a field as a whole or to a variety of different fields (opposed to specialist).

Nearby words

general-purpose, generalcy, generalisation, generalise, generalissimo, generalist, generality, generalization, generalize, generalized, generalized anaphylaxis

Origin of generalist

First recorded in 1605–15; general + -ist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for generalist

Finally if there is anything left over we can explore the possibility of outsourcing the task to a specialist or generalist.
How To Create Your Own User Manual|Ari Meisel|February 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You could be a generalist—a poet/mollusk scientist/seafarer/surgeon.
A.J. Jacobs: How I Write|Noah Charney|May 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Woe to the specialist who is not a pretty fair generalist, and woe to the generalist who is not also a bit of a specialist.
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler|Samuel Butler
He can do more for you and knows more of your case in five minutes' observation than the generalist would in three months.
Dollars and Sense|Col. Wm. C. Hunter

What we have said about the specialist we could repeat by taking the opposite of the question for the generalist.
Dollars and Sense|Col. Wm. C. Hunter
When this nation of ours was born nearly every one was a generalist.
Dollars and Sense|Col. Wm. C. Hunter
Pleasure and recreation are the only things in which an individual should be a generalist.
Dollars and Sense|Col. Wm. C. Hunter

British Dictionary definitions for generalist

generalist

/ (ˈdʒɛnərəlɪst, ˈdʒɛnrə-) /

noun

a person who is knowledgeable in many fields of study
(as modifier)a generalist profession

ecology an organism able to utilize many food sources and therefore able to flourish in many habitatsCompare specialist (def. 3)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for generalist

generalist

1610s, from general (adj.) + -ist.

Medicine definitions for generalist

generalist

[ jĕn′ər-ə-lĭst ]

n.

A physician whose practice is not oriented in a specific medical specialty but instead covers a variety of medical problems.