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 (specialist ).

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generalist British  

/ ˈdʒɛnrə-, ˈdʒɛnərəlɪst /

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

Example Sentences

And while investors in semiconductor and tech stocks are already familiar with how supply-and-demand imbalances should benefit Nvidia, generalist investors need “more convincing” on Nvidia’s position and the sustainability of AI spending, he said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

That should help them avoid losing their businesses to generalist models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

Institutional investors such as pension funds are increasingly reluctant to back generalist firms, often categorized as “jambog,” which stands for “just another middle-market buyout group.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

The AI company notified employees over email that it was planning to downsize its team of generalist AI tutors, according to messages viewed by the publication.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2025

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