Meaning & use
entomologist
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebiology
A scientist who studies insects, including how they live, grow and affect plants, animals and people.
Grammar: Takes an or an: an entomologist studies insects.
Patterns
- an entomologist at somewhere
- an entomologist who studies something
The entomologist spent the summer counting bees in the meadow.
An entomologist helped the farmers identify the pest that was eating their crops.
She became an entomologist because she loved butterflies as a child.
Word forms
| plural | entomologists |
|---|
Common combinations
- a leading entomologist
- A leading entomologist warned that insect numbers are falling.
- forensic entomologist
- A forensic entomologist can help police estimate time of death.
- amateur entomologist
- He is an amateur entomologist with a large beetle collection.
- entomologist at a university
- She works as an entomologist at a state university.
Synonyms and how they differ
- insect scientist
- Insect scientist is a plain-English description, while entomologist is the official professional term.
- bug expert
- Bug expert is informal and may include spiders and worms, which are not insects, whereas an entomologist deals only with insects.
- zoologist
- A zoologist studies all animals, so it is broader than an entomologist.
Word family
- entomology noun
- the scientific study of insects
- entomological adjective
- relating to the study of insects
- entomologically adverb
- in a way relating to insect study
Commonly confused: entomologist or etymologist?
entomologist vs etymologist
An etymologist studies the origins of words, not insects, though the two words look alike.
Practice
An entomologist would most likely be asked to help with which problem?
Choose one answer.
An entomologist studies insects, so beetle damage is in their field. Walls, rivers and computers belong to other experts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “entomologist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.