linguist
Americannoun
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a person who has the capacity to learn and speak foreign languages
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a person who studies linguistics
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the spokesman for a chief
Etymology
Origin of linguist
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin lingu(a) “tongue, speech” + -ist
Explanation
A linguist is someone who studies language. Linguists study every aspect of language, including vocabulary, grammar, the sound of language, and how words evolve over time. The study of language is called linguistics, and people who study linguistics are linguists. Being a linguist isn't easy; you usually have to go to graduate school and conduct research about a specific aspect of language. There are computational linguists, forensic linguists, comparative linguists, and many other specialties. If you love language, you'd probably enjoy a career as a linguist.
Vocabulary lists containing linguist
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 22–February 28, 2026
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ist
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"Teen Slang" – "Is Money Affecting Your Social Status?”
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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.
By examining bodies of written work, linguists can track the rise of such language quirks, says Kimberly Becker, a linguist and co-host of the “Women Talkin’ ‘Bout AI” podcast.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Michael Hahn, a linguist based in Saarbrücken, set out to answer that question with Richard Futrell from the University of California, Irvine.
From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026
In 2020, photographer Caitlin O’Hara snapped linguist Rachid Baligh of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Marrakesh, Morocco, with his family, his 2015 Ural cT motorcycle, and his miniature schnauzer, Lola, in the Arizona desert.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
“I think how it’s represented in the film reflects how it’s actually used today,” said Grant Muāgututi’a, a Samoan linguist and dialect coach who worked on the movie.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2024
In the first part of the 1986 article, Joseph H. Greenberg, a linguist at Stanford, proclaimed that the profusion of idioms was more apparent than real.
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.
