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
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!
"Hitching a Ride"
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!
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 4
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:
Chris Higgins, a retired scientist and volunteer at Lime Tree Observatory and Planetarium in Grewelthorpe, North Yorkshire, added it is still "certainly worth" seeing it from the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“The other thing is that Fauci’s views over time, like those of any good scientist, changed in varying degrees on varying topics,” Bowman said.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis also stepped down from his CEO role at the AI lab, though he’s staying with the company and has moved into a more research-focused role as Google’s chief scientist.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
“She has not appeared to do anything to get in the way of this referendum,” said Lisa Young, a political scientist at the University of Calgary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Aristotle, the greatest scientist of his time, "knew" that the primary function of the brain was to cool the blood.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Alphabet’s shares fell 4.1% to $360.13 after the Google parent said veteran Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, a key driver of its AI strategy, was leaving to found a startup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
One math professor, Misha Rudnev at the University of Bristol, told New Scientist: “This is a problem that I didn’t expect to see solved in my lifetime.”
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
According to Dr. Ketan Patel, Principal Scientist at CSMCRI, this capability could create new opportunities for more sustainable manufacturing processes.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026
Scientist Alexandra, 32, refuses to download Max "out of contrariness" to its heavy-handed promotion.
From Barron's ● Mar. 23, 2026
I still had my crown for Short-Circuit Scientist.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
The book includes numerous photos of the Gadget in its final form, as well as a diagram of what scientists thought the mushroom cloud would look like.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
These measurements allowed scientists to reconstruct changing flow patterns near the core-mantle boundary.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
When their fossils are discovered, it helps scientists piece together how local environments changed over time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Wolbachia occurs naturally in mosquitoes, and scientists found they could exploit it: if the male carries the bacteria but the female does not, or carries a different strain, sterilization occurs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Science will continue to evolve, and scientists will continue to stretch the bounds of what we know.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
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.
