scientist
noun
scientist
American
[sahy-uhn-tist]
/ ˈsaɪ ən tɪst /
noun
scientists
plural
Scientist
1
British
/ ˈsaɪəntɪst /
noun
-
Christian Science Christ as supreme spiritual healer
-
short for Christian Scientist See Christian Scientist
scientist
2
British
/ ˈsaɪəntɪst /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
"As the first project to create Bose-Einstein condensates in orbit, we're demonstrating that we can make quantum technology work reliably in space," said Ethan Elliott, deputy project scientist for Cold Atom Lab at JPL.
From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026
Jumper, who is a senior research scientist and Nobel Prize winner, is joining AI start-up Anthropic.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
She introduces readers to a passionate, driven and irascible scientist through the story of his life’s work.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026
Insect scientist Connor Butler's tours combine nature walks with opportunities for LGBTQ+ people to meet away from busy bars and noisy Pride parades.
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026
Depending on who you talked to, he was an inventor, a scientist, a soldier, or even a lunatic—or maybe all of the above.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
