paleontologist

[pey-lee-uhn-tol-uh-jist, pal-ee-]

noun

1. a scientist who specializes in the study of life forms that existed in previous geologic periods, as represented by their fossils.

   The education program manager for the museum has worked as a paleontologist, digging up dinosaur bones in Wyoming.

Word History and Origins

Origin of paleontologist¹

paleontolog(y) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Example Sentences

Because of that genetic link, paleontologists classify birds as “avian dinosaurs,” however counter-intuitive that might seem.

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It was developed in conjunction with paleontologist Gregory M. Erickson, currently a member of the faculty of Florida State University.

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Bailey’s character, the bespectacled paleontologist named Henry, evokes Harrison Ford’s “Indiana Jones”-era heartthrob, with director Gareth Edwards making sure to capture his wire-rimmed glasses beaming in the natural light.

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Sauropods, the inspiration for Boom Boom, are one of a few species of dinosaurs that paleontologists say lived in New Zealand.

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The dire wolves known to paleontologists, however, are different from the creatures that can now be viewed in Colossal videos gamboling in an open field.

Read more on Los Angeles Times