engineer

noun

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en·gi·neer | \ ˌen-jə-ˈnir

Definition of engineer

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a member of a military group devoted to engineering work

2 obsolete : a crafty schemer : plotter

3a : a designer or builder of engines

b : a person who is trained in or follows as a profession a branch of engineering

c : a person who carries through an enterprise by skillful or artful contrivance

4 : a person who runs or supervises an engine or an apparatus

engineer

verb

engineered; engineering; engineers

Definition of engineer (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to lay out, construct, or manage as an engineer engineer a bridge

2a : to contrive or plan out usually with more or less subtle skill and craft engineer a business deal

b : to guide the course of engineer a rally

3 : to modify or produce by genetic engineering corn engineered to resist crop pests

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Phrases Containing engineer Learn More About engineer

Choose the Right Synonym for engineer

Verb

guide, lead, steer, pilot, engineer mean to direct in a course or show the way to be followed. guide implies intimate knowledge of the way and of all its difficulties and dangers. guided the scouts through the cave lead implies showing the way and often keeping those that follow under control and in order. led his team to victory steer implies an ability to keep to a course and stresses the capacity of maneuvering correctly. steered the ship through a narrow channel pilot suggests guidance over a dangerous or complicated course. piloted the bill through the Senate engineer implies finding ways to avoid or overcome difficulties in achieving an end or carrying out a plan. engineered his son's election to the governorship

Examples of engineer in a Sentence

Noun Design engineers are working on ways to make the cars run more efficiently. The engineer stopped the train. Army engineers were called in to construct the canal. Verb The rebels engineered a successful attack. the mayor engineered an agreement to have a major league team play in our city

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Shelby said the agency is hoping the bid comes in at the lower range of an engineer’s estimate of $500,000 to $1 million, but high materials costs and other issues could complicate that. — Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Oct. 2022 This comes in the wake of the lead engineer behind the Slipspace Engine leaving 343 last month, though that was not as widely reported as the departure of the head of 343, Bonnie Ross. — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022 Inspired by today's world of cyber crime, your 10-year-old boy takes on the role of a coder, hacker and security engineer in a set of 120 challenges in this game. — Rachel Rothman, Good Housekeeping, 26 Sep. 2022 The hackers who claimed responsibility for the attack gained access to the company from a laptop of an engineer employed by a subcontractor, Okta said. — Robert Mcmillan, WSJ, 16 Sep. 2022 The son of an engineer, Rogê was born and raised in Arpoador, a posh neighborhood between Ipanema and Copacabana. — James Gavin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2022 That’s about one-fifth the salary of a software engineer in San Francisco. — Wired, 13 Aug. 2022 The film was made in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, when rules were so strict that voice talent recorded their parts in isolation without the aid of an audio engineer on site to set them up. — Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 July 2022 Critics say this question is better asked of a structural engineer than a volunteer board member. — Kathy Orton, Washington Post, 14 July 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Ronald Reagan worried Jimmy Carter would engineer a last-minute release of U.S. hostages held in Iran. — NBC News, 9 Oct. 2022 Nailing down how, when, and why these chronic conditions vanish could help researchers engineer those circumstances more often for allergy sufferers—in ways that are actually under our control, and not just by chance. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2022 In the spring, there was more optimism among investors and economists that the Fed could engineer a soft landing — choking off inflation without croaking the economy. — Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Oct. 2022 This research – and a surge in funding – helped scientists rapidly engineer the novel vaccine. — Molly Stellino, USA TODAY, 21 Sep. 2022 According to Quinn, Customer Value Management helps product and solution teams engineer value into their offerings. — Stephen Diorio, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 Deciphering this molecular code could allow researchers to better engineer T cells to do things like fight cancer. — Megan Molteni, STAT, 14 May 2022 Still, some hope that the Fed will be able to thread the proverbial needle and engineer a soft landing. — Paul R. La Monica, CNN, 5 May 2022 Always in a hurry, with a serious, determined expression, this leader, who introduced glasnost and perestroika and helped engineer a peaceful end to the Cold War, was hard to catch for even a brief interview. — Michael Nakoryakov, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'engineer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.