Meaning & use
biologist
Last updated
UK/baɪˈɒlədʒɪst/
US/baɪˈɑːlədʒɪst/
Meaning
nouncountable
A scientist who studies living things and how they work.
Grammar: Countable noun: a biologist, two biologists.
Patterns
- a biologist who studies something
- a marine/molecular/wildlife biologist
- work as a biologist
She became a biologist because she loved studying plants as a child.
The biologist spent months observing how the birds raised their young.
A team of biologists discovered a new species of frog in the rainforest.
Word forms
| plural | biologists |
|---|
Common combinations
- marine biologist
- He works as a marine biologist studying coral reefs.
- molecular biologist
- A molecular biologist examines DNA in the lab.
- wildlife biologist
- The wildlife biologist tracks bears in the national park.
- research biologist
- As a research biologist, she publishes papers on cell growth.
- become a biologist
- It takes years of study to become a biologist.
Synonyms and how they differ
- life scientist
- A broader term that covers anyone working in the life sciences, including biochemists and ecologists.
- naturalist
- A naturalist studies plants and animals by observing them, often without formal scientific training.
Word family
- biology noun
- The scientific study of living things.
- biological adjective
- Relating to living things or their study.
- biologically adverb
- In a way that relates to living things.
Commonly confused: biologist or biography?
biologist vs biography
A biography is the story of a person's life, while a biologist is a scientist who studies life.
Practice
She works as a ______ biologist, studying dolphins in the ocean.
Choose one answer.
'Marine' fits because dolphins live in the ocean; 'molecular' would mean studying tiny cell parts, not dolphins.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biologist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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