Meaning & use
mycologist
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebiology
A scientist who studies fungi, including mushrooms, molds and yeasts.
Grammar: Countable: a mycologist, two mycologists.
Patterns
- a mycologist at somewhere
- a mycologist who studies something
The mycologist led a walk through the woods to identify wild mushrooms.
A mycologist at the university discovered a new species of mold in the cave.
Farmers consulted a mycologist when a fungus began destroying their wheat.
Word forms
| plural | mycologists |
|---|
Common combinations
- amateur mycologist
- An amateur mycologist brought a basket of chanterelles to the club.
- professional mycologist
- The professional mycologist warned against eating the pale mushroom.
- consult a mycologist
- Always consult a mycologist before eating foraged fungi.
- leading mycologist
- She is a leading mycologist who studies forest soil networks.
- trained mycologist
- Only a trained mycologist could tell the two species apart.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fungi expert
- Fungi expert is an everyday phrase, but mycologist names the formal scientific profession.
- botanist
- A botanist studies plants in general, and fungi are no longer classed as plants, so a mycologist is the more accurate word.
- forager
- A forager collects wild food, and may know mushrooms, but does not necessarily do scientific study.
Word family
- mycology noun
- the scientific study of fungi
- mycological adjective
- relating to the study of fungi
- mycelium noun
- the thread-like body of a fungus
- mycorrhiza noun
- a partnership between a fungus and plant roots
Commonly confused: mycologist or microbiologist?
mycologist vs microbiologist
A microbiologist studies tiny organisms such as bacteria and viruses, while a mycologist focuses on fungi.
Practice
A scientist who studies mushrooms, molds and yeasts is called a ___.
Choose one answer.
Mycologists study fungi. A pharmacist prepares medicines, which is a tempting but unrelated profession.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mycologist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.