proficiency
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of proficiency
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin prōfici(ēns) “advancing” ( see proficient) + -ency
Explanation
If you have proficiency with something, you are pretty good at it. If you have proficiency with Spanish, you can understand and communicate well in that language. Proficiency, pronounced "pro-FISH-en-cee," comes from the Latin word proficere, meaning "accomplish, make progress, be useful." If you have achieved proficiency in something, you have done well at gaining a skill. However, having proficiency doesn't make you an expert. Still, proficiency is something to be proud of — it means you have worked hard, and if you keep going, you probably will become an expert.
Vocabulary lists containing proficiency
Power Prefix: pro
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"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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Twelve Years a Slave
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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:
His four goals and four assists along with creating 54 chances, including nine big chances, highlight his proficiency at both ends of the pitch.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
A 2021 state law required third-graders scoring just below reading proficiency to show “adequate growth” at the end of summer camps to advance to fourth grade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
There is skill, and there is craft, and the difference between the two is contentment with proficiency versus an unsettled desire to create greatness out of nothing, to chase a dream.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
“In today’s world, a valuable education includes proficiency at workforce-related tools, whether those are specific to a student’s degree or more generally applicable like generative AI,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
The imperative to raise the general level of technical proficiency had only grown stronger as the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union grew more inflamed.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Most of the proficiencies required can be gained through further education.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
My language proficiencies overcome those barriers and I have tried to help people who have no idea what to do once they land here.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2022
I sometimes looked in vain for stacks of books along the walls that weren’t didactically aligned with state-ordained, “testable” proficiencies.
From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2021
Beyoncé’s proficiencies include the art of publicity, and her messaging is as precise as her melisma.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 18, 2019
By this means, you will well employ your precious time, though too many do not understand its value, and make great proficiencies in virtue.
From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 16 by Scott, Walter, Sir
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.
