en·gi·neer
ˌen-jə-ˈnir 
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
engineered; engineering; engineers
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
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
Gerui Wang, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
While the booster performed impressively under extreme conditions, an unexpected anomaly caught engineers' attention: around 15 seconds before shutdown, the nozzle appeared to detach and release debris, accompanied by a bright plume flare.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 11 July 2025
Katia Damborsky, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
Inspired by Soap Box Derby races, they were engineered simply so families could assemble them at home for kids to learn to sail.
—Katie Strasberg Rousso, Southern Living, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for engineer
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.
Noun
Perhaps no more than a few hundreds of AI top talents worldwide possess this caliber of expertise, a scarcity inflating salaries to star levels while reducing the job prospect of software engineers whose programming skills can be automated.
—Gerui Wang, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
While the booster performed impressively under extreme conditions, an unexpected anomaly caught engineers' attention: around 15 seconds before shutdown, the nozzle appeared to detach and release debris, accompanied by a bright plume flare.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 11 July 2025
Verb
It’s engineered for high-performance boating, combining lightweight carbon fiber construction with advanced infusion and vacuum bagging techniques.
—Katia Damborsky, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
Inspired by Soap Box Derby races, they were engineered simply so families could assemble them at home for kids to learn to sail.
—Katie Strasberg Rousso, Southern Living, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for engineer
Cite this Entry
“Engineer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engineer. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
engineer
1 of 2 noun
en·gi·neer
ˌen-jə-ˈni(ə)r
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 verb1
: 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
: to modify or produce by genetic engineering
insulin made by genetically engineered bacteria—Technical Survey
Technical SurveyLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share