specify
Americanverb (used with object)
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specifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
specified,
past participle, past
-
specifying
present participle
-
to mention or name specifically or definitely; state in detail.
He did not specify the amount needed.
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to give a specific character to.
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to set forth as a specification.
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to name or state as a condition.
He specified that he be given my power of attorney.
verb (used without object)
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specifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
specified,
past participle, past
-
specifying
present participle
verb
-
to refer to or state specifically
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to state as a condition
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to state or include in the specification of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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specifiernoun
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respecifyverb
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prespecifyverb (used with object)
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underspecifyverb (used with object)
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misspecifiedadjective
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nonspecifiedadjective
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specificativeadjective
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underspecifiedadjective
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unspecifiedadjective
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unspecifyingadjective
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specificativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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specifysimple
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specifiessimple
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have specifiedperfect
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has specifiedperfect
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am specifyingprogressive
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are specifyingprogressive
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is specifyingprogressive
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have been specifyingperfect progressive
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has been specifyingperfect progressive
Past
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specifiedsimple
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had specifiedperfect
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was specifyingprogressive
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were specifyingprogressive
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had been specifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of specify
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English specyfyen, from Old French specifier, from Medieval Latin specificāre “to describe, mention particularly,” from specific(us) specific + āre, infinitive verb suffix
Explanation
To explicitly name something or state a particular detail, you specify that thing. So, when you have a craving for dessert and you send someone to the store to buy ice cream, you may want to specify a flavor. If you assign something for a particular purpose, this verb means that you specify. Your parents can specify for safety's sake that you can only ride your bicycle on the sidewalk and not on the street. Another use of the verb specify is to give a set of requirements. If you have your grandmother's old recipe for snickerdoodle cookies, you may wonder what the recipe means when it specifies that you should add "a smidgen of molasses."
Vocabulary lists containing specify
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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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:
Police did not specify what ride was involved, but aerial footage from news helicopters showed the Goliath rollercoaster stopped midway, with riders being helped off by workers.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s armed forces had received appropriate orders, although he did not specify what those instructions entailed.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Each group of three letters is known as a codon, and most codons specify one of the amino acids that serve as the building blocks of proteins.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
The London-headquartered bank does not specify how many people it employs in its UK wealth business but it is thought to have hundreds of relationship managers, the FT added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The same argument is made by telephone operators, who’ll place a call outside the country for you only after you specify the location in Kinshasa where you’ll leave I’enveloppe containing your bribe.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The new deal reaffirms the U.S. right to station troops and build bases in Greenland, but specifies two sites where its military will establish a presence in the short term.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
It also specifies that agencies are not required to treat engagement from AI or bots as if they were real humans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The most straightforward way of keeping your moods from affecting your portfolio is to have a detailed financial plan that, well in advance, specifies how you will react, come what may.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
But the release specifies that some other information has been withheld - such as the identities of junior civil servants, or data judged by the government to be "commercially sensitive".
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
She specifies the evening, a Friday, tells him the address, somewhere in Chelsea.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The ride involved has not been specified but aerial footage from news helicopters showed the Goliath rollercoaster stopped midway, and multiple witnesses have identified the ride as the one involved in the incident.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
A call option gives the buyer the right to purchase an underlying asset at a specified price before a predetermined expiration date.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
The deal also includes additional potential earnout consideration of up to $150 million based on the achievement of specified post-closing performance targets in 2028.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Treatment ended once the fat thickness fell below a specified threshold.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
However, in American tournaments, where hotel ballrooms are rented and contracted for a specified period and players have made arrangements for flights home, it’s necessary to apply a tie-breaking system to determine the winner.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
"A drone attack caused a fire at the Yandex data centre in Sasovo, affecting part of its infrastructure," a Yandex spokesperson told AFP, without specifying the origin of the drone.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Instead, do it in one-off letters specifying the amount—and keep careful records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
One of the bills, introduced by Stefani, expands the ability of certified nurse-midwives to provide care for pregnant and postpartum patients by specifying that supervision by a physician is not required when providing certain services.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
He added that out of "the 59 top cities and Capitals", Washington DC is "the only one in the world that does not have a triumphal arch", without specifying what those cities are.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
It is often helpful to think of the four coordinates of an event as specifying its position in a four-dimensional space called space-time.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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