specialized

American  

[spesh-uh-lahyzd] / ˈspɛʃ əˌlaɪzd /

especially British, specialised

adjective

1. invested with a special character or restricted to a special function or field of activity.

   He campaigned for a specialized burn department to be established at the hospital.

   The humanities, once a highly specialized pursuit, have rapidly become a much broader conversation.

2. Biology. (of an organism or organ) adapted to a special function or environment.

   If the coastal sage scrub were to vanish, so would these specialized species of insects that are dependent on it.

---

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of specialize.

Other Word Forms

• nonspecialized adjective
• overspecialized adjective
• unspecialized adjective

Etymology

Origin of specialized

specialize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

The company makes “specialized robots with productive jobs” and focuses on mining and transportation.

From Los Angeles Times

Researchers also developed a specialized version of the method that detects key crystal symmetries within the material.

From Science Daily

The moist surfaces that line the body contain specialized molecules that help defend against microbes and prevent infections and inflammation.

From Science Daily

The system includes specialized data processing that i.e. corrects for factors such as Earth tides.

From Science Daily

More recently, the rover collected a fourth sample for a specialized analysis reserved for particularly interesting targets.

From Science Daily