linguist
noun
lin·guist
ˈliŋ-gwist 
1
: a person accomplished in languages
especially
: one who speaks several languages
2
: a person who specializes in linguistics
Examples of linguist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Conrad Gessner, the sixteenth-century Swiss physician, naturalist, and linguist, and reputedly the first European to describe the guinea pig, the tulip, and the pencil, is also said to be the first to write extensively about the northern bald ibis.
—
Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
In this piece for The Dial, Julia Webster Ayuso reports on the field of forensic linguistics, in which linguists look for patterns in language—syntax, punctuation, spelling, word choice—to find clues in criminal investigations.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 22 Nov. 2024
Recently, five computational linguists put Chomsky’s claim to the test.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 13 Jan. 2025
As linguists and geneticists continue to untangle the origins of Indo-European languages, one thing is clear—the story of language is one of movement, change and cultural exchange, far from the rigid, nationalist narratives of the past.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
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Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
In this piece for The Dial, Julia Webster Ayuso reports on the field of forensic linguistics, in which linguists look for patterns in language—syntax, punctuation, spelling, word choice—to find clues in criminal investigations.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 22 Nov. 2024
Recently, five computational linguists put Chomsky’s claim to the test.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 13 Jan. 2025
As linguists and geneticists continue to untangle the origins of Indo-European languages, one thing is clear—the story of language is one of movement, change and cultural exchange, far from the rigid, nationalist narratives of the past.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for linguist
Cite this Entry
“Linguist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/linguist. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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linguist
noun
lin·guist
ˈliŋ-gwəst
1
: a person skilled in languages
2
: a person who specializes in linguistics
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