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Synonyms

geologist

American  
[jee-ol-uh-jist] / dʒiˈɒl ə dʒɪst /

noun

geologists plural
  1. a person who specializes in geologic research and study.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of geologist

First recorded in 1785–95; geolog(y) + -ist

Explanation

If you’re fascinated by rocks and spend hours digging for interesting samples in the backyard, you might be a budding geologist, a scientist who studies all things related to the Earth. A geologist is an expert in the field of geology, the study of what the Earth is made of and how it was formed. The woman on TV explaining the history of an active volcano that’s ready to erupt? She’s probably a geologist who specializes in volcanoes. Geologists can specialize in many different aspects of the field, ranging from earthquakes to soil erosion. What they all have in common is that they’re trying to figure out how the Earth works.

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Vocabulary lists containing geologist

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:

From a science standpoint, "the content of the documents is absolutely incredible", said Francois Kervyn, the museum geologist leading the project, describing decades of painstaking fieldwork carried out in largely unmapped regions.

From Barron's Jul. 3, 2026

“To a geologist, this is not at all surprising.”

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 25, 2026

Dr Bretwood Higman, an Alaskan geologist, who saw for himself the damage at Tracy Arm Fjord, said it was "a close call".

From BBC May 6, 2026

Toby and Daniel Rice are both Rice Investment operating partners, while their brothers Derek, a geologist, and Ryan, a petroleum reservoir engineer, work on the firm’s technical and administrative team, according to the presentation.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 27, 2026

The theory Hapgood alluded to was one first propounded in 1908 by an amateur American geologist named Frank Bursley Taylor.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

New research from an international team led by geologists at Utrecht University suggests that these fern-covered regions were highly vulnerable to fire.

From Science Daily Jul. 22, 2026

The archive brings together surveys conducted by Belgian geologists as well as files from mining companies that operated in the vast African country before independence in 1960.

From Barron's Jul. 3, 2026

More recently, however, geologists have identified a number of smaller secondary faults connected to the system.

From Science Daily May 19, 2026

Ever since British geologists extracted diamonds in the 1930s, the country's mineral wealth has rarely reached ordinary people.

From BBC May 17, 2026

And so geologists took every pain they could think of to dismiss his evidence and belittle his suggestions.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

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