human engineering

noun

1
: management of humans and their affairs especially in industry
2

Examples of human engineering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Much of its early demise is due to human engineering and agricultural projects gone awry, now paired with climate change. Victoria Milko, Quartz, 8 Feb. 2024 Upon further inspection of the bottom right corner, a man can be spotted tending to pigeons, a moment of dramatic resonance that transcends human engineering. Rajvinder Singh, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2023 In a state that has historically been brutal to its mascots, from the extinct California grizzly gear that graces the state flag to the ever-on-the-brink condor, the Chinook is now threatened as never before by disruptive human engineering and the dangerously evolving climate. Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2021 More than 100 acres of wetlands — and in turn fish, birds and flooded basements — stand to benefit from some human engineering at Powderhorn Lake. Morgan Greene, chicagotribune.com, 16 Sep. 2021 In nearly a century, Louisiana has lost roughly 2,000 square-miles of marshland as a result of human engineering and environmental degradation such as oil spills. Xander Peters, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Dec. 2022 For instance, research published in Nature last year found that human engineering of the Mississippi River’s bed, combined with its levee systems, concentrate flood waters in a way that actually exacerbates flood events. Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 11 June 2019 The sobering consequences compounded by each of Saul's wrongdoings were inextricable of the somewhat fantastical playground of mischief where his human engineering and legal ingenuity roamed free. Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 16 Aug. 2022 Big projects can involve big flows of energy and matter, so plausibly someday human engineering will alter the solar system in ways that a Webb-like instrument could detect from afar. Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 30 July 2022

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

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of human engineering was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near human engineering

Cite this Entry

“Human engineering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/human%20engineering. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

human engineering

noun
human en·​gi·​neer·​ing -ˌen-jə-ˈni(ə)r-iŋ How to pronounce human engineering (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on human engineering

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!