physicist
Americannoun
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.
"Our research not only advances the theoretical understanding of quantum impurities but is also directly relevant for ongoing experiments with ultracold atomic gases, two-dimensional materials, and novel semiconductors," adds the Heidelberg physicist.
From Science Daily • Jul. 9, 2026
But it has now also surpassed director Christopher Nolan's 2023 film about the American theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, which previously held the box office record for any film based on a real-life figure.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
One of them was Socolow, a theoretical physicist who had been leading an interdisciplinary environmental program at Princeton since 1971.
From Salon • Jun. 26, 2026
In “Rheology,” Shayok Misha Chowdhury, an experimental theater artist, and his mother, Bulbul Chakraborty, a theoretical physicist, bridge the language of their different disciplines to explore a subject dear to both of them: loss.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
In 1801 a physicist named Joseph Fourier' was the prefect of a departement of France called Isere.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
