seismologist
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of seismologist
First recorded in 1855–60; seismolog(y) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )
Explanation
A scientist who studies earthquakes is called a seismologist. If you're fascinated by tectonic plates, tsunamis, and everything else earthquake-related, you might want to become a seismologist. A seismologist is an expert in seismology, or the study of earthquakes. Both words are rooted in the Greek seismos, or "a shaking," and seismologists study the factors that lead to the extreme shaking caused by quakes. These scientists also investigate related events, like volcanic eruptions, connected with movements of the earth's crust and shifting tectonic plates, and predict when and where future earthquakes will occur.
Vocabulary lists containing seismologist
Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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Geology - Middle School
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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.
Benjamin Fernando, a seismologist and planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University, happened to be in an Ohio city during the event.
From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026
On average, the UK experienced an earthquake "almost once a day" in 2025, seismologist Brian Baptie said.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025
Since 1900, northeastern Afghanistan has been hit by 12 quakes with a magnitude above 7, according to Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.
From Barron's • Nov. 2, 2025
“The plans to instrument all of Tibet are particularly ambitious and exciting, as this is one of the most tectonically active regions on Earth,” says James Hammond, a seismologist at Birkbeck, University of London.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 17, 2024
Three years later a Croatian seismologist named Andrija Mohorovičić was studying graphs from an earthquake in Zagreb when he noticed a similar odd deflection, but at a shallower level.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
