generalist

American  

[jen-er-uh-list] / ˈdʒɛn ər ə lɪst /

noun

1. 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).

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generalist British  

/ ˈdʒɛnərəlɪst, ˈdʒɛnrə- /

noun

1. 1. a person who is knowledgeable in many fields of study

   2. ( as modifier )

      a generalist profession

2. ecology an organism able to utilize many food sources and therefore able to flourish in many habitats Compare specialist

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Etymology

Origin of generalist

First recorded in 1605–15; general + -ist

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

generalist

Researchers were already developing AI models to break ciphers, but the public release of state-of-the-art generalist tools has unleashed dozens of new solutions.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Catch One is a generalist music venue, but was founded as Los Angeles’ first nightclub for Black lesbians.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

In places such as Wyoming and Florida, M. trumani lived as a generalist predator in temperate grasslands.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

But Great Comp is hosting a healthy mix of generalist and mobile species that are said to be "flourishing" with regular appearances in the garden.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

The challenge, as always, was to play the role of market generalist without also playing the role of fool at the poker table.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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