specialize
Americanverb (used without object)
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specializes,
present (3rd person singular)
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specialized,
past participle, past
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specializing
present participle
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to pursue some special line of study, work, etc.; have a specialty.
The doctor specializes in gastroenterology.
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Biology. (of an organism or one of its organs) to be adapted to a special function or environment.
verb (used with object)
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specializes,
present (3rd person singular)
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specialized,
past participle, past
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specializing
present participle
-
to render special or specific; invest with a special character, function, etc.
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to adapt to special conditions; restrict to specific limits.
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to restrict payment of (a negotiable instrument) by endorsing over to a specific payee.
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to specify; particularize.
verb
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(intr) to train in or devote oneself to a particular area of study, occupation, or activity
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(usually passive) to cause (organisms or their parts) to develop in a way most suited to a particular environment or way of life or (of organisms, etc) to develop in this way
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(tr) to modify or make suitable for a special use or purpose
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(tr) to mention specifically; specify
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(tr) to endorse (a commercial paper) to a specific payee
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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specializationnoun
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overspecializeverb
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subspecializeverb
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prespecializeverb (used without object)
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superspecializeverb (used without object)
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nonspecializingadjective
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unspecializingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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specializesimple
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specializessimple
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have specializedperfect
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has specializedperfect
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am specializingprogressive
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are specializingprogressive
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is specializingprogressive
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have been specializingperfect progressive
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has been specializingperfect progressive
Past
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specializedsimple
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had specializedperfect
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was specializingprogressive
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were specializingprogressive
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had been specializingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of specialize
From the French word spécialiser, dating back to 1605–15; see special, -ize
Explanation
To specialize is to narrow down your focus, in your studies or profession, to a specific field. If you love playing the accordion, perhaps you should specialize in polka music. If there’s a subject you think is special, specialize in it! For example, doctors start to specialize in medical school, when they study something specific such as podiatry (feet) or cardiology (hearts). Other professionals also specialize in smaller parts of larger fields, like lawyers who specialize in corporate law, or writers who specialize in TV comedies.
Vocabulary lists containing specialize
Drama
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-ize
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African Civilizations, Lessons 1–2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And a dwindling number of attorneys who specialize in death penalty cases meant 70% of condemned inmates did not have a lawyer at the end of last year, according to a state report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
He’ll study civil engineering and wait until grad school to specialize in transit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
These funds specialize in using derivatives in ways that are particularly appealing to older, more risk-averse investors, ETF industry experts said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Even before the pause, many data centers in Texas had been moving ahead with off-grid solutions, working with companies that specialize in modular power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
And to think: these people specialize in the analysis and understanding of the human psyche.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
“It does not inspire confidence to know that this kind of wild understatement happened,” said Andrew Granato, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in corporate finance and insurance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Singh worked with Jyoti Katoch, an associate professor of physics who specializes in fabricating devices from such materials.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
The firm specializes in copper cables used to connect AI servers to networking switches.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
“There is a good chance that the device has non-genuine parts, which raises a safety question as much as a security one,” says Tzvika Shahaf, chief product officer at Blancco, which specializes in data erasure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Mr. Haber, did you know Ruby’s family has a store in Chinatown that specializes in art and furniture?”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Neiden, the 27 year-old founder of Candle House, has long specialized in one-on-one phone productions designed to be done from the caller’s home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
"It is an exciting discovery that points out that a complex brain requires its own specialized immune structures to defend it."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The solution is essentially an array of specialized sensors that allows a Digit 5 to reliably detect people in its vicinity and slow its movements the closer someone gets to it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: The best financial advisers for high-net-worth individuals provide specialized assistance to help manage assets and meet the complex financial needs of their clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Crop development is today a conscious, highly specialized effort carried out by professional scientists.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
In earlier work, the researchers drew on the expertise of 12 international panelists specializing in internal medicine, geriatric medicine and clinical pharmacology to develop a list of 65 PIPCs.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
“No one can tell you with a straight face where interest rates are going,” Jim Lebenthal, who was a market strategist specializing in municipal bonds, wrote in 2009 in his now-classic “Lebenthal on Munis.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
This is "a fairly new phenomenon in Bolivia," a "very safe country until a few years ago," Joaquin Chacin, an investigator specializing in organized crime, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
She is a journalist specializing in luxury travel, restaurants, wine and wellness and lives in Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The colonel dwelt in a vortex of specialists who were still specializing in trying to determine what was troubling him.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
