Meaning & use
paleontologist
A scientist who studies fossils to understand ancient life and the history of the Earth.
See it in a sentence
The paleontologist carefully brushed dirt away from the dinosaur bones buried in the cliffside.
Paleontologists compared the newly found skull to fossils from a similar species discovered decades earlier.
A note on using this word
Paleontologists study fossils and ancient life, while archaeologists study human history through artifacts, a distinction people often confuse.
Words with a similar meaning
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