herpetologist
Americannoun
Explanation
A herpetologist is someone who specializes in the study of reptiles and amphibians. If it slithers around on its belly, a herpetologist will know what it is. The word herpetologist comes from the Greek root herpeton meaning "creeping animal." When a herpetologist goes out searching for reptiles and amphibians, he is herping, or peeking under rocks and in the mud, hoping to find a slithery creature lingering there. What will he find? Turtles, snakes, alligators, salamanders, etc. These reptiles and amphibians are a herpetologist's forte.
Vocabulary lists containing herpetologist
Turtle Boy
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Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken?
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for June 1–June 7, 2025
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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.
Chan is a herpetologist, meaning he studies amphibians and reptiles such as frogs, turtles, lizards, and snakes.
From Science Daily • Mar. 9, 2026
“Beauty has a price,” said herpetologist Robert Hansen.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025
“This is a very thorough study, and I full trust the genetic results,” says Wolfgang Böhme, an honorary staff member and senior herpetologist at the Museum Koenig in Germany in an email.
From National Geographic • Feb. 16, 2024
Steven Platt, a herpetologist from the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society, said more should be done to save Thailand’s wild Siamese crocodiles before opening the door to increased trade.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 12, 2022
He would be a physiologist or a biologist or an anatomist or even a herpetologist, but none should call him “scientist.”
From The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley) A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America by Stuck, Hudson
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.
