ecologist
Americannoun
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a scientist or researcher whose field of study involves the relationships and interactions between organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem ecologists study how nutrients, energy, and water flow through an ecosystem.
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an environmentalist.
Like climate change activists and ecologists around the world, I feel passionately that the issue is crucial to the long-term well-being of the human race.
Etymology
Origin of ecologist
Explanation
An ecologist is a scientist who studies how animals and plants interact with their environment. If you spend hours watching television shows about animals, maybe you’ve got an ecologist inside you trying to get out. To be an ecologist, first you have to learn about ecology — the study of organisms and how they relate to their environment. Ecology is a word that comes from the Greek oikos, meaning “house.” Basically, ecologists study the environment like it’s a big house, and all the living creatures in it are roommates. Sounds like a lot of work, and it is.
Vocabulary lists containing ecologist
Florida EOC Biology 1
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Unit 1: Ecological Systems
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Begun in 2015, Canadian forest ecologist Simard’s “Mother Tree Project” has studied the effects of logging on forests.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell -- a behavioral ecologist and elephant expert who has focused on how the giant mammals communicate and detect signals through their feet -- called the findings "fascinating."
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026
Coyotes could be leaving the mainland because the Bay Area is becoming too crowded, Brett Furnas, a wildlife ecologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Los Angeles Times.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026
“We keep seeing these oak groves getting infested and declining, and a lot of oak mortality,” said Beatriz Nobua-Behrmann, an ecologist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, or UCANR.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2026
As cultural ecologist Paul Shepard has observed, The nomadic Bedouin does not dote on scenery, paint landscapes, or compile a nonutilitarian natural history..
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
