economist

noun

econ·​o·​mist i-ˈkä-nə-mist How to pronounce economist (audio)
1
archaic : one who practices economy
2
: a specialist in economics

Examples of economist in a Sentence

Economists are predicting rapid inflation.
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.
Karen Young of the Columbia University Center on Global Energy, who's also a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, and Diane Swonk, the chief economist and managing director at accounting firm KPMG. ABC News, 3 May 2026 Kyle Anderson, an economist at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, said the gas tax holiday was more of a political move than an economic move. Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026 On Wednesday morning, economists polled by FactSet expect ADP to show job gains of 95,000 in April. Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 3 May 2026 Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok applied it to the AI age, predicting that AI adoption will beget more jobs, not fewer. Jason Ma, Fortune, 2 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for economist

Word History

Etymology

Middle French oeconome, iconome "manager of a household" (borrowed from Medieval Latin oeconomus, going back to Late Latin, "administrator, manager," borrowed from Greek oikonómos "manager of a household, steward") + -ist entry 1 — more at economy entry 1

First Known Use

1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of economist was in 1586

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Cite this Entry

“Economist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/economist. Accessed 7 May. 2026.

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