mathematician
Americannoun
-
mathematicians
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mathematician
First recorded in 1400–50, mathematician is from the late Middle English word mathematicion. See mathematics, -ian
Explanation
Use the noun mathematician when you talk about someone who is highly educated in — and good at — math. Your math teacher might be a great mathematician who's also gifted at explaining math to students. You can call a person who does math for a living a mathematician, like a math professor or someone who works in statistics or as an actuary. Actually, anyone who has great skill at mathematics is also a mathematician, even if they work as a chef or a taxi driver. The word mathematician is rooted in the Greek mathematikos, which means "relating to mathematics, or scientific," or simply "disposed to learn."
Vocabulary lists containing mathematician
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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.
See Examples For:
The Hindenburg Omen was developed by Jim Miekka, a mathematician and market analyst, back in 1995.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
In those moments, the world’s greatest mathematician offers the models some advice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Recent examples include OpenAI’s disproof of the unit distance conjecture, and the proof of Erdős’ problem 1196 by Liam Price, a 23-year-old amateur mathematician.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
Depicted in the Oscar-winning film "The Imitation Game", Bletchley Park, north of London, was a country house where mathematician Alan Turing cracked the code on encrypted Nazi messages.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Is he suggesting we ought to perform labor?” asked Belabra, the mathematician, to a stir of astonished murmurs.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
For decades, mathematicians have tried to prove the Riemann hypothesis, which says that 100% of the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function fall on a single vertical line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
During its long history, the Jacobian conjecture has been the subject of many claimed proofs, including by Beniamino Segre and Wolfgang Gröbner, two famed 20th-century mathematicians.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
It’s an idea that some mathematicians believe is true but nobody has been able to prove or disprove.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
One of the greatest mathematicians of his generation is working on AI safety because he believes it’s the most important problem that he can help solve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
You see, this is why the world needs mathematicians!
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
