specialist

[ spesh-uh-list ]
See synonyms for: specialistspecialists on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person who is devoted to one subject or to one particular branch of a subject or pursuit.

  2. a medical practitioner who devotes attention to a particular class of diseases, patients, etc.

  1. U.S. Army. an enlisted person of one of four grades having technical or administrative duties, the grades corresponding to those of corporal through sergeant first class but not requiring the exercise of command.

  2. Stock Exchange. a member of an exchange who buys and sells a single stock or a particular group of stocks in their own name or for other stockbrokers and thus helps maintain the market in those securities on that exchange.

Origin of specialist

1
First recorded in 1855–60; special + -ist

Other words from specialist

  • non·spe·cial·ist, noun, adjective
  • pre·spe·cial·ist, noun
  • sub·spe·cial·ist, noun

Words Nearby specialist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use specialist in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for specialist

specialist

/ (ˈspɛʃəlɪst) /


noun
    • a person who specializes in or devotes himself to a particular area of activity, field of research, etc

    • (as modifier): specialist knowledge

  1. an enlisted rank in the US Army denoting technical qualifications that entitle the holder to a noncommissioned officer's pay

  1. ecology an organism that has special nutritional requirements and lives in a restricted habitat that provides these: Compare generalist

Derived forms of specialist

  • specialistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012