specialty

American  

[spesh-uhl-tee] / ˈspɛʃ əl ti /

noun

• specialties
  plural

1. a special or distinctive quality, mark, state, or condition.

2. a special subject of study, line of work, area of interest, or the like.

   His specialty is art criticism.

3. an article or service particularly dealt in, rendered, manufactured, etc., or one to which the provider, dealer, or manufacturer claims to devote special care.

   The manufacturer's specialty is fine hats.

   Synonyms:

   forte, badge, stamp, trademark

4. an article of unusual or superior design or quality.

5. a novelty; a new article.

6. an article with such strong consumer demand that it is at least partially removed from price competition.

7. a special or particular point, item, matter, characteristic, or peculiarity.

8. Law.

   1. a special agreement, contract, etc., expressed in an instrument under seal.

   2. a negotiable instrument not under seal.

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adjective

1. Theater. (in vaudeville)

   1. performing or performed in a manner that is unusual or not customary for a type of act, especially a performance involving dexterity or ingenuity, as a patter song.

      specialty actor; specialty act.

   2. (of a song or dance) isolated from the rest of the show.

      specialty number.

specialty British  

/ ˈspɛʃəltɪ /

noun

1. law a formal contract or obligation expressed in a deed

2. a special interest or skill

3. 1. a service or product specialized in, as at a restaurant

      roast beef was a specialty of the house

   2. ( as modifier )

      a specialty dish

4. a special or distinguishing feature or characteristic

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• specialties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of specialty

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English specialte, specialite “particular affection, fondness,” from Old French especialte, specialte “special quality, favor, or privilege,” from Latin speciālitāt- (inflectional stem of speciālitās) “particularity, peculiarity”; see special, -ity

Explanation

A specialty is someone's strong suit or area of expertise. A restaurant’s best dish would be its specialty. If you love baking muffins, make that your specialty. Magic Johnson was a great overall basketball player, but his specialty was passing the ball to teammates and getting assists. A specialty is a skill, strength, or asset someone has because of hard work. A doctor can have a specialty such as cardiology. A restaurant will usually have a specialty, which is a unique meal they're known for making. Just like special things have something unique or great about them, specialties are something a person or place does well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

specialty specialties

“If logic demand is low, we could use the capacity for microcontroller units or specialty memory.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Mozart has long been a specialty of LACO.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The artificial-intelligence revolution has begun to benefit Intel because the next wave to AI technology-AI agents completing tasks for users-relies on the central processing units, or CPUs, that are the company’s specialty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

The specialty finance company is managed by a subsidiary of asset-management giant BlackRock.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

When we are apprentices in our chosen specialty, we join a clique in which, it seems to us, everyone else seems to know so much!

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

The beloved Minneapolis bakery is famous for its oversized, gooey cinnamon rolls, but there are plenty of other temptations on display, including caramel pecan buns, sticky buns and seasonal specialties.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

That could include chief medical officers and chief nursing officers, as well as heads of surgery, emergency rooms, oncology, obstetrics, cardiology and other specialties, they say.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

The number of doctors the U.S. can add a year is limited by available residency slots, and many newly minted MDs often bypass primary care in favor of higher-paying specialties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

The semiconductor industry has always been cyclical — not only as a whole, but for particular specialties within the sector and even for individual companies.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026

“It is one of my specialties, yet there is little opportunity to use it. I am not adept at creating this type of illusion to be viewed by more than one person at a time.”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• hobby
• major
• masterpiece
• profession
• speciality