paleontologist
noun
a scientist who specializes in the study of life forms that existed in previous geologic periods, as represented by their fossils.
paleontologists
-
pluralof paleontologist.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
Because those hard structures had not evolved, paleontologists must rely on rare environments capable of preserving fragile cells and soft tissues.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
By presenting the skeleton as a connected structure, it can also help paleontologists examine its anatomy and better understand how the predator lived.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Tuesday's purchase by an anonymous buyer highlights a surging market for dinosaur bones -- a trend that has drawn criticism from some paleontologists over the specimens going into private hands.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
The higher prices helped reshape the market, encouraging more fossils to come up for sale while giving commercial paleontologists more resources to fund costly and yearslong digs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
But if there had been any paleontologists living 67 million years ago, they could not have predicted the dinosaurs’ imminent demise, because asteroids belong to a field of science otherwise remote from dinosaur biology.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
