scientist

noun

sci·​en·​tist ˈsī-ən-tist How to pronounce scientist (audio)
1
: a person learned in science and especially natural science : a scientific investigator
2
capitalized : christian scientist

Examples of scientist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for example, holds a Pi Day Challenge, encouraging the public to solve math problems and think like scientists (give these previous tests a try). Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Jennifer Whitehill, Kelly Dunn and Renee Johnson, who are scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Johns Hopkins University. Jen Christensen, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 Price is also music director for the International Space Orchestra, an ensemble featuring scientists from the NASA Ames Research Center and other intergalactic research organizations. Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024 The letter to Macron was signed by European conservation organizations Pro Wildlife, Robin des Bois and Veterinarians for Biodiversity, and included scientists from Cambridge and Oxford. Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 Now, scientists at Stanford University employed two different methods that previous work explored to create microchip-scale frequency combs. IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2024 There’s never been a better time to view this extraordinary display: Activity is on the upswing, with scientists (including NASA) predicting that the northern lights will happen more frequently and intensely throughout 2024 and 2025. Paul Rubio, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2024 Police closed the entrance to the park as Mote Marine Laboratory scientists and officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission assessed the whale’s condition. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 10 Mar. 2024 The six-episode fourth season of HBO's anthology crime drama follows Foster and Reis’ characters investigating the mysterious deaths of eight scientists in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska, featuring strong Indigenous representation in the cast and touching upon the topic of MMIW. Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scientist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

scient- (in Latin scientia "knowledge, science" or in scientific) + -ist entry 1

Note: The word scientist was apparently first introduced by the English polymath William Whewell (1794-1866). The coinage is referred to in an unsigned book review authored by Whewell in The Quarterly Review, vol. 51 (March & June, 1834), pp. 58-59: "The tendency of the sciences has long been an increasing proclivity to separation and dismemberment …The mathematician turns away from the chemist; the chemist from the naturalist; the mathematician, left to himself, divides himself into a pure mathematician and a mixed mathematician, who soon part company; the chemist is perhaps a chemist of electro-chemistry; if so, he leaves common chemical analysis to others; between the mathematician and the chemist is to be interpolated a 'physicien' (we have no English name for him), who studies heat, moisture, and the like. And thus science, even mere physical science, loses all traces of unity. A curious illustration of this result may be observed in the want of any name by which we can designate the students of the knowledge of the material world collectively. We are informed that this difficulty was felt very oppresively by the members of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in their meetings at York, Oxford, and Cambridge, in the last three summers. There was no general term by which these gentlemen could describe themselves with reference to their pursuits. Philosophers was felt to be too wide and too lofty a term, and was very properly forbidden them by Mr. [Samuel Taylor] Coleridge, both in his capacity of philologer [philologist] and metaphysician; savans was rather assuming, besides being French instead of English; some ingenious gentleman [apparently William Whewell himself] proposed that, by analogy with artist, they might form scientist, and added that there could be no scruple in making free with this termination when we have such words as sciolist, economist and atheist—but this was not generally palatable …." As Whewell indicates, his coinage was not a success, though, undeterred, he reintroduced it in 1840, and the word seems to have been produced independently of Whewell in the following two decades in both Britain and the United States (where it was more readily accepted). For documentation and details, see Sydney Ross, "Scientist: the story of a word," Annals of Science, vol. 18, no. 2 (June, 1962), pp. 65-85.

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scientist was in 1834

Dictionary Entries Near scientist

Cite this Entry

“Scientist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scientist. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scientist

noun
sci·​en·​tist ˈsī-ənt-əst How to pronounce scientist (audio)
: a person skilled in science and especially natural science : a scientific investigator

Medical Definition

scientist

noun
sci·​en·​tist ˈsī-ənt-əst How to pronounce scientist (audio)
: a person learned in science and especially natural science : a scientific investigator

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