en·gi·neer
| \ ˌen-jə-ˈnir
\
\
Definition of engineer
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: a member of a military group devoted to engineering work
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)
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
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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
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Trent Jefferies had served in the US Army Corps of Engineers, worked as an engineer for Black & Decker, and managed materials and logistics for a company that builds carbon fiber parts for airplanes.
—
Michael Schulson, Quartz, 14 Oct. 2021
K9 Ventures, NEA Nicholas, 28, worked as an engineer at Facebook, Palantir and Dropbox before starting Forethought with his former Palantir colleague, Ghoche, 27, in late 2018.
—
Amy Feldman, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2021
Majeski ended up at ThorSport, working in the shop as an engineer and also squeezing out four races in the team’s fifth Toyota.
—
Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10 Oct. 2021
Deep in debt, Mr. Rigas worked during the day as an engineer at Sylvania, an electrical products manufacturer, then hurried back each night to run his theater.
—
Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2021
Fishers longest serving councilman is retiring to focus on his full job as an engineer at a construction firm.
—
John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Sep. 2021
But her career actually began at General Motors Co. as an engineer and then as a senior financial analyst.
—
Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2021
Rivers, who grew up in Grayson in northeastern Kentucky, earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from University of Kentucky and worked as an engineer for a private construction company in Kentucky.
—
Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 13 Sep. 2021
Decades ago, Doug Field worked as an engineer at Ford before leaving to work at Segway, Apple, and Tesla.
—
Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, 9 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
And experts say that its jilted path to re-opening, while flawed, provides lessons for any government trying to engineer a divergence away from an airtight COVID-19 response.
—
Grady Mcgregor, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2021
With Republicans fully opposed to the president’s big plans, the Democratic leaders were trying to engineer a way out of a potentially devastating standoff between the party’s moderate and progressive wings that risks Biden’s agenda.
—
Lisa Mascaro And Kevin Freking, chicagotribune.com, 24 Aug. 2021
With Republicans fully opposed to the president’s big plans, the Democratic leaders were trying to engineer a way out of a potentially devastating standoff between the party’s moderate and progressive wings that risks Biden’s agenda.
—
Lisa Mascaro And Kevin Freking, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Aug. 2021
With Republicans fully opposed to the president’s big plans, the Democratic leaders were trying to engineer a way out of a potentially devastating standoff between the party’s moderate and progressive wings that risks Biden’s agenda.
—
BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2021
This includes the Sackler family of Purdue Pharma and OxyContin infamy, who are trying to engineer a legal scheme to escape liability through bankruptcy court.
—
Dick Durbin, STAT, 7 Aug. 2021
These movies unfold entirely on computer screens, toggling through apps, websites, and videochats, which leaves the viewer to reverse-engineer the narrative.
—
Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 30 June 2021
Even if a waiver were granted, intellectual property lawyers said there could be long delays until production because the patents don’t include the details of the manufacturing process, leaving developing countries to reverse-engineer the formulas.
—
Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2021
That such a denouement is possible is testament, first, to our tendency to assume that decline — soccer as a whole, in fact — runs in straight lines, to reverse-engineer an explanation for every event.
—
New York Times, 9 Apr. 2021
See MoreThese 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.
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Last Updated
19 Oct 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Engineer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engineer. Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.
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More Definitions for engineer
engineer
noun
English Language Learners Definition of engineer
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a person who has scientific training and who designs and builds complicated products, machines, systems, or structures : a person who specializes in a branch of engineering
: a person who runs or is in charge of an engine in an airplane, a ship, etc.
: a person who runs a train
engineer
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of engineer (Entry 2 of 2)
: to plan, build, or manage (something) by using scientific methods
: to produce or plan (something) especially in a clever and skillful way
: to change the genetic structure of (a plant or animal)
See the full definition for engineer in the English Language Learners Dictionary
engineer
noun
en·gi·neer
| \ ˌen-jə-ˈnir
\
\
Kids Definition of engineer
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: a person who designs and builds machinery or technical equipment : a person who studies or works in a branch of engineering
an electrical engineer
2
: a person who runs or is in charge of a railroad engine or other machinery or technical equipment
engineer
verb
engineered; engineering
Kids Definition of engineer (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to plan, build, or manage as an engineer
They engineered a faster race car.
2
: to plan out in a skillful or clever way : contrive
The general engineered the defeat of the enemy.
engineer
transitive verb
en·gi·neer
| \ ˌen-jə-ˈni(ə)r
\
\
Medical Definition of engineer
: to modify or produce by genetic engineering
insulin made by genetically engineered bacteria — Technical Survey
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Time Traveler for engineer
The first known use of engineer was circa 1635
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