engineer

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noun

en·gi·neer ˌen-jə-ˈnir

Synonyms of engineer next

: a member of a military group devoted to engineering work

obsolete : a crafty schemer : plotter

: a designer or builder of engines

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

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

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

engineer

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verb

engineered; engineering; engineers

transitive verb

: to lay out, construct, or manage as an engineer

engineer a bridge

: to contrive or plan out usually with more or less subtle skill and craft

engineer a business deal

: to guide the course of

engineer a rally

: 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

Example Sentences

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

For example, when a Google engineer claimed a similar AI to GPT-4 was sentient, the company fired him. —

Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 17 May 2023 The Nigerian film industry is in a state of shock and mourning after several Nollywood stars and a sound engineer recently died in rapid succession. —

Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023 In another case, a former Apple engineer is accused of stealing the company’s autonomous vehicle technology to provide it to a Chinese competitor. —

Ana Swanson, BostonGlobe.com, 16 May 2023 He’s channeled his political fundraising skills toward raising money for university programs to train Japanese engineers on quantum computing and semiconductor technology, so Japan can support the United States in one of its races against China. —

Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post, 14 May 2023 After the heart-wrenching prologue of a pilot (featuring Rashida Jones as a curious IT employee), the story centers on Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson), an engineer who reluctantly agrees to become sheriff of the silo after a loved one's mysterious death. —

Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 12 May 2023 For years, workers across greater Paris have been implementing what is known as the Swimming Plan — an engineer’s dream, involving thousands of new underground pipes, tanks and pumps designed to prevent damaging bacteria from flowing into the Seine, particularly during storms. —

Catherine Porter James Hill, New York Times, 12 May 2023 Related:Security guard, engineer, 3 children among those killed in Allen mall mass shooting A commission spokesperson gave a similar statement to KENS-TV in May 2022 about state dollars being replaced with CARES Act money. —

Sarah Bahari, Dallas News, 12 May 2023 Former jet engine and automobile engineers worked on the handheld tool, which went through thousands and thousands of prototypes—all made on those 3-D printers—and harnessed 25 years of airflow research started by the brand’s founder, Sir James Dyson. —

Margaux Anbouba, ELLE, 12 May 2023

Verb

The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts allegedly used her position to engineer, obtain and leak information to news organizations about a political rival who was running for local office, according to a report the Justice Department’s internal watchdog released Wednesday. —

Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 17 May 2023 The Supersonic was engineered to protect hair from heat damage, thanks to intelligent heat control, and leave hair up to 132% smoother, according to the brand. —

Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023 With California’s prevalence of natural disasters, the owner engineered the home to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 12, fires, and floods. —

Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 17 May 2023 This Comfort Flex shirt is engineered for wearability, with no-wrinkle technology and a stretchy materials that extends to its collar. —

Kristine Solomon, Travel + Leisure, 12 May 2023 The band produced In Times New Roman … and their longtime collaborator, Mike Rankin, engineered it. —

Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2023 The conflict between factions loyal to two rival generals, who together engineered a military coup in 2021, has pushed Sudan to the brink of civil war. —

Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 5 May 2023 Alan Moulder, who’d engineered My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, was brought in to mix Siamese Dream and bring a bit of that shoegaze magic to an album that would quickly prove to be a multi-platinum breakthrough. —

Al Shipley, SPIN, 5 May 2023 The Hawaii-centric story tells of the bond formed between a lonely human girl named Lilo and a dog-like alien named Stitch, who was genetically engineered to be a force of destruction. —

Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Apr. 2023 See More

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.