designer

American  

[dih-zahy-ner] / dɪˈzaɪ nər /

noun

1. a person who devises or executes designs, especially one who creates forms, structures, and patterns, as for works of art or machines.

2. a schemer, intriguer, or plotter.

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adjective

1. designed or created by or carrying a label or identification of a designer, especially a fashion designer, but often mass-produced.

   designer jeans.

2. created for intentional effect through chemical or genetic modification, as for a designer drug, or through crossbreeding, as for a designer dog.

designer British  

/ dɪˈzaɪnə /

noun

1. a person who devises and executes designs, as for works of art, clothes, machines, etc

2. (modifier) designed by and bearing the label or signature of a well-known fashion designer

   designer jeans

3. (modifier) (of things, ideas, etc) having an appearance of fashionable trendiness

   designer pop songs

   designer stubble

4. (modifier) (of cells, chemicals, etc) designed (or produced) to perform a specific function or combat a specific problem

   designer insecticide

5. (modifier) (of an animal) cross-bred for a specific purpose, such as looks, temperament, or likelihood of causing an allergy

   designer dogs

6. a person who devises plots or schemes; intriguer

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Other Word Forms

• self-designer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of designer

First recorded in 1640–50; design + -er ¹

Explanation

A designer is a person who plans how something will look. An architect is a designer of buildings, drawing detailed blueprints indicating what the structures should look like and how they should be built. The word designer came into English in the seventeenth century meaning "one who schemes." The word soon came to describe someone who figures out how something should look, especially something artistic. If you're reading a newspaper, a graphic designer planned how the text and images should look on each page. You might also be familiar with a fashion designer, someone who comes up with a vision for a garment and creates sketches to show what the finished product will look like.

Example Sentences

But in the past few years, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Co. have acquired designer jackets, trendy jewelry and Popeye biceps.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

“It should reflect American values: hard work, humble beginnings, doing right by your neighbor,” the interior designer Annie Elliott told HuffPost.

From Slate • May 18, 2026

Religious ideas and products circulated through music and movies, crystal shops and sports stadiums, Christian bookstores and designer collections.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

Sonia Kasparian, the original designer of Roxy’s board shorts back in the mid-’90s, smiles in our recent conversation when I recount my astonishment at their discovery.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

Its restaurant is called the Atwood, after Charles Atwood, who replaced Root as Burnham’s chief designer.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• architect
• author
• engineer
• fashion designer
• inventor
• maker
• planner
• producer