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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Bomb
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Subtle Knife
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Germany's final attempt was an experimental reactor known as the B8 pile, constructed in 1945 under the direction of physicist Werner Heisenberg.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The chemistry prize follows the physics prize, which on Tuesday honoured Belgian physicist Francis Halzen.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Belgian physicist Prof Francis Halzen has won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work on an observatory that detects particles from space, shedding light on the distant universe.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
"He was a great theoretical physicist and a leader of quantum materials research at UChicago," Yang said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
British authorities had just arrested Klaus Fuchs, a physicist who had helped the Americans design the first atomic bomb.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
In 1957, Illinois physicists John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and Robert Schrieffer explained this behavior with what became known as BCS theory.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
Wang grew up in New Mexico, where his parents worked as physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the famous site of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s work on the Manhattan Project.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
For about 40 years, physicists have used conformal field theories to calculate how far apart those energy rungs should be.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
"It's a step toward unifying all of the known fundamental forces, which has been a goal of physicists for more than a century."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Charles, like many physicists of his time, was fascinated with the very different properties of gases.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
