scientist
Americannoun
noun
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Christian Science Christ as supreme spiritual healer
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short for Christian Scientist See Christian Scientist
noun
Other Word Forms
- nonscientist noun
Etymology
Origin of scientist
Explanation
A scientist is a person with some kind of knowledge or expertise in any of the sciences, like biology or chemistry. See that guy in the white lab coat wearing pocket protectors and experimenting with chemicals? He’s definitely a scientist. The word science comes from the Latin, scientia, which means "knowledge." The sciences are branches of knowledge about the world that derive from repeated experiments. A scientist is any person with an interest in the sciences, from amateurs to professionals. A curious high school student interested in seeing what happens when he slips vinegar into his best friend's can of soda could be considered a kind of scientist!
Vocabulary lists containing scientist
Occupations
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"Hitching a Ride"
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 4
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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.
"We were interested in this material, which had a collection of characteristics we hadn't seen before," said Tong Chen, co-first author and a research scientist at Rice.
From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026
On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, a materials scientist at JPL, disappeared while on a hike near Mt.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
Those opposed to regulation say "unregulated AI is like the accelerator, and regulation is like a brake", said the British-Canadian computer scientist who won the 2024 Nobel Physics Prize for his work on AI.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
"It is true that Öpik was a fabulous scientist," she said.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Knowing that every great scientist needed a spark of inspiration, I opened my book 101 Kids’ Super Fun Science Experiments.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
