Meaning & use
cytologist
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablespecialist
A scientist who studies cells, including their structure, work and how they change, often to look for disease.
Grammar: Countable job noun: a cytologist, two cytologists.
Patterns
- a cytologist at something
The cytologist examined the sample under a microscope.
A cytologist can spot abnormal cells in a smear test.
She trained as a cytologist before moving into research.
nouncountablemedical
A laboratory worker who screens cell samples for signs of cancer or other disease.
Grammar: Used in hospital settings.
Patterns
- a hospital cytologist
The hospital cytologist flagged the sample for review.
A cytologist screens hundreds of slides a week.
He works as a cytologist in a cancer center.
Word forms
| plural | cytologists |
|---|
Common combinations
- a trained cytologist
- A trained cytologist reviews each slide.
- a clinical cytologist
- The clinical cytologist reported unusual cells.
- consult a cytologist
- The pathologist consulted a cytologist.
- a cytologist's report
- The cytologist's report arrived on Friday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cell biologist
- A cell biologist usually does research on how cells work, while a cytologist often examines samples for diagnosis.
- pathologist
- A pathologist is a doctor who diagnoses disease using many kinds of tissue and tests, so the role is broader.
- histologist
- A histologist studies tissues, not single cells.
Word family
Commonly confused: cytologist or histologist? cytologist or cryptologist?
cytologist vs histologist
A histologist studies tissues, while a cytologist studies individual cells.
cytologist vs cryptologist
A cryptologist works with codes and has nothing to do with cells.
Practice
Who would most likely examine cervical smear samples for abnormal cells?
Choose one answer.
A cytologist examines individual cells under the microscope. The other professions do not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cytologist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.