physicist
Americannoun
-
physicists
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of physicist
Explanation
A physicist is a scientist who studies and is trained in physics, which is the study of nature, especially how matter and energy behave. Do you ever wonder how things work? If you're interested in what makes magnets attract iron or what's happening in atoms, then maybe you should become a physicist. Physicists study physics, which is related to the word physical. Physicists are interested in everything that physically exists, from tiny gadgets to massive stars. It takes many years of school to become a physicist, and physicists work on complex projects such as space travel and new energy sources.
Vocabulary lists containing physicist
Albert Einstein
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Bomb
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The Subtle Knife
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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:
"I don't have a clear idea of my plans for the next few weeks or months," said Nadezhdin, a physicist by training.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
In December 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi set off humanity’s first nuclear chain reaction, in a squash court at the University of Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
"One of them was named after a famous Indian physicist, so I would say I'm not racist."
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
This frustrated Marcus because he otherwise liked the innovative theory that had been proposed by Willard Libby, a physicist who had helped develop the atom bomb.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Now, meeting Lawrence in person for the first time, he found himself agreeing with Loomis that the Berkeley physicist should be part of the effort.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The model gives physicists a way to investigate fundamental questions involving open quantum systems.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
If the interpretation is confirmed, the result could help physicists test how established theories of quantum physics behave under some of the most extreme conditions found anywhere in the universe.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
Henri Murison, the chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, told the BBC: "Eminent physicists have made the case for why this is particularly worrying, because it will lose physics talent across the country."
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
When I went to Morgan Stanley in 1994 after several years in academia, Wall Street was full of physicists and economists.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
In 1998 two physicists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem showed that even a spinning or charged black hole—with a nice, ring-shaped singularity—will kill an astronaut, thanks to mass inflation.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
