paleontologist
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of paleontologist
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.
Vocabulary lists containing paleontologist
Tyrannosaurus Lex(icon)
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Crenshaw
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Paleontology: Dinosaurs - Introductory
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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:
His portrayal of a paleontologist suddenly discovering that the creatures he’s studied in rock and bone have come to life is just masterful.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
John Long, an Australian paleontologist who has also done extensive research in this field, called the study "quite outstanding."
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
One of the most famous discoveries came in 2005, when paleontologist Mary Schweitzer and colleagues reported soft tissue structures inside a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
Dr Nick Longrich, a paleontologist at the University of Bath, said his hunch was that they were mainly preying on ammonites.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Archie was not morbid; he was a paleontologist.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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
The study also contributes to an ongoing debate among paleontologists.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 22, 2026
The tracks were first spotted by a worker at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire four years ago - with paleontologists soon descending on the site.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Thus, the difficulties historians face in establishing cause-and-effect relations in the history of human societies are broadly similar to the difficulties facing astronomers, climatologists, ecologists, evolutionary biologists, geologists, and paleontologists.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
