economist
Americannoun
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a specialist in economics
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archaic a person who advocates or practises frugality
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of economist
Explanation
The word economist is close to economics, which is the science of money. An economist is a person who practices that science. If your economics course isn't being taught by an economist, the chances are you should switch sections. In the 16th century, the word was used to describe the person who managed the household, which certainly explains courses in "home economics." But the current meaning of economist — a person who studies the flow of cash and credit between people, institutions, banks, etc. — first developed during the 18th century. Perhaps that's no surprise either, as that's when the global economy truly became, well, global.
Vocabulary lists containing economist
Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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The Executive Branch: The Presidency and Vice Presidency
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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:
It comes as recent news stories have raised the risk of returning to a “full war,” Peter Sidorov, senior international economist at Deutsche Bank, said on Wednesday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
"I don't expect a rate hike, but I do expect dissents," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
In June, the BOE said it expected inflation to be 3.25% in the fourth quarter of this year, while Henry Cook, an economist at MUFG, sees a peak of 3.4% to 3.5%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In 2011 a commission headed by the economist Andrew Dilnot proposed a lifetime cap of £35,000.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
This outcome may surprise some people—including Feldman’s economist friends, who counseled him twenty years ago that his honor-system scheme would never work.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
The European Union’s statistics agency will release second-quarter GDP figures for the eurozone Thursday, and economists expect to see a 0.2% expansion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Despite that pickup, economists at the ECB last week forecast a slowdown in wages this year, citing “weak near-term growth momentum, low confidence and high uncertainty.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
While the president appears to believe that Warsh wants to lower rates, Wall Street economists say they are in the dark, with the new chair remaining mum on key points.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
The June increase was less than the 2.1% gain expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The economists decided to test their solution by conducting a study of ten day-care centers in Haifa, Israel.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
