genealogist

noun

ge·​ne·​al·​o·​gist ˌjē-nē-ˈä-lə-jist How to pronounce genealogist (audio)
 also  -ˈa-lə-,
 also  ˌje-nē-
Synonyms of genealogistnext
: a person who traces or studies the descent of persons or families

Examples of genealogist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the case of Edwards, Beaumont detective Tina Lewallen and genetic genealogist Shera LaPoint helped create a family tree that led to a suspect named Clayton Foreman, who had grown up in Beaumont and attended the same high school as the victim, Edwards. — Paige Harriss, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2025 The $25,000 offering will see a genealogist build the nominee’s family tree back several generations and then walk them and their family through the findings. $305 worth of skincare products from Swiss brand INSTYTUTUM. — Nicolas Vega, CNBC, 28 Feb. 2025 This development led law enforcement to collaborate with genealogists to reopen and continue investigating the cold case 16 years after the tragic event. — Jordana Comiter, People.com, 10 Jan. 2025 But people who want access to the Library’s data must collect it via the API, a portal through which anyone, from a genealogist to an AI researcher, can download data. — Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for genealogist

Word History

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of genealogist was in 1605

Rhymes for genealogist

See All Rhymes for genealogist

Browse Nearby Words

genealogist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Genealogist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genealogist. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on genealogist

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for genealogist

Nglish: Translation of genealogist for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All