paleontologist

American  

[pay-lee-uhn-tol-uh-jist, pal-ee-] / ˌpeɪ li ənˈtɒl ə dʒɪst, ˌpæl i- /

noun

• paleontologists
  plural

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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paleontologists
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of paleontologist

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

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Explanation

A paleontologist is a scientist who studies fossils. If your basement is filled with fossils found while out on hikes, then you're an amateur paleontologist. Paleontology breaks down to the Greek for "ancient" (paleo), "being" (onto-), and "study" (-logy). A paleontologist tries to figure out how things were in ancient times by studying their remains in fossil traces. If you are obsessed with all things related to dinosaurs, becoming a paleontologist might make sense for you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paleontologist paleontologists

According to Wyoming paleontologist and study coauthor Jessica Lippincott, they are commonly nicknamed "squid butts" in the region.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

“It’s the most complete mastodon molar from our area, and the most spectacular mastodon molar that I’ve ever seen,” Wayne Thompson, a paleontologist and owner of the firm Pacific Paleontology, said in the news release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Countless more fossils remain in the ground, including at Phu Wiang National Park, two hours away, where Suravech and his veteran paleontologist father -- and boss -- Varuvudh work on a dig.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Erik Seiffert, a paleontologist at the University of Southern California and a co-author of the study, said the findings changed his view of early ape evolution.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

Richard Owen, the paleontologist who hovered over England’s natural historians like a patrician falcon, descended from the Royal College of Surgeons, to verify and catalog Darwin’s fossil skeletons.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Zhelestids have been known to paleontologists for nearly 40 years, but most discoveries consisted of isolated teeth or incomplete remains.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Those features led some paleontologists to propose that zhelestids represented an unknown group of hoofed mammals.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Museum paleontologists excavated some 70% of Thomas’s fossilized skeleton in the early 2000s, making it one of the most complete T. rex specimens ever found.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

According to Yale paleontologists, Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa had a short snout, a heavily reinforced skull, and enlarged jaw muscles suited for snapping shut on large prey.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

Watching paleontologists pulling things out of the ground—mostly worms—isn’t A-list entertainment.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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