engineer

1 of 2

noun

en·​gi·​neer ˌen-jə-ˈnir How to pronounce engineer (audio)
1
: a member of a military group devoted to engineering work
2
obsolete : a crafty schemer : plotter
3
a
: 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

2 of 2

verb

engineered; engineering; engineers

transitive verb

1
: to lay out, construct, or manage as an engineer
engineer a bridge
2
a
: 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
Choose the Right Synonym for engineer

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
Nurses, case workers, engineers, teachers, SECAs, qualified admin, adaptive spending, and more are all necessary aspects of this plan. Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 26 Oct. 2024 Another source tells The Verge that engineers inside Microsoft — OpenAI’s main partner for deploying AI models — are preparing to host Orion on Azure as early as November. Kylie Robison, The Verge, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
Such sales have been on the decline since 2021, no doubt due to the rapid rise in interest rates engineered by the Fed. Robert Barone, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024 Apple has gone to great lengths to engineer a secure and private AI cloud platform, and this week’s release includes extensive detailed technical documentation of its security features as well as a research environment that is already available in the macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta release. Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for engineer 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'engineer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English engineour, from Anglo-French, from enginer to devise, construct, from engin

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1635, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of engineer was circa 1635

Dictionary Entries Near engineer

Cite this Entry

“Engineer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engineer. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

engineer

1 of 2 noun
en·​gi·​neer ˌen-jə-ˈni(ə)r How to pronounce engineer (audio)
1
: a member of a military group devoted to engineering work
2
a
: a designer or builder of engines
b
: a person who is trained in or follows as a profession a branch of engineering
3
: a person who runs or supervises an engine or technical machinery

engineer

2 of 2 verb
1
: to plan, build, or manage as an engineer
2
: to guide the course of
engineer a rally

Medical Definition

engineer

transitive verb
en·​gi·​neer ˌen-jə-ˈni(ə)r How to pronounce engineer (audio)
: to modify or produce by genetic engineering
insulin made by genetically engineered bacteriaTechnical Survey

More from Merriam-Webster on engineer

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