expert
Americannoun
-
a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority.
a language expert.
- Synonyms:
- master, connoisseur
-
Military.
-
the highest rating in rifle marksmanship, above that of marksman and sharpshooter.
-
a person who has achieved such a rating.
-
adjective
-
possessing special skill or knowledge; trained by practice; skillful or skilled (often followed by in orat ).
an expert driver;
to be expert at driving a car.
- Synonyms:
- dexterous, proficient, experienced
- Antonyms:
- unskillful
-
pertaining to, coming from, or characteristic of an expert.
expert work;
expert advice.
verb (used with object)
noun
adjective
-
skilful or knowledgeable
-
of, involving, or done by an expert
an expert job
Synonym Usage
See skillful.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of expert
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin expertus “tried,” past participle of experīrī “to try”; cf. experience
Explanation
An expert is someone who knows a ton about the subject at hand. The adjective form of expert describes someone or something that has that special knowledge. If you get expert instruction, that means an expert is your teacher. The word expert is related to experience, and to be an expert at something you need experience. While your academic honors might suggest that you're an expert in certain areas, like rocket science, other fields — like wake boarding and tattoo art, for example — require more hands-on experience before you're an expert. The word expert is also an adjective: once you become really good at it, people will say you're an expert snake handler.
Vocabulary lists containing expert
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 41-50
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Words to Describe Yourself on a Resume
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
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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:
The plaintiffs’ claims “lack scientific merit and were sustained only by unreliable expert opinions that could not survive rigorous judicial review,” Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s global vice president of litigation, said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Amundson wasn’t an expert on the law, but she knew right from wrong.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
"Oslo has seen booking growth of 154 percent year-over-year, Helsinki 124 percent... Those numbers tell me that travellers are actively looking beyond the traditional summer hotspots," said the expert and founder of Coolcation Adventures.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
The investigation of the multistate outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce is expected to be slow-going, Wade Syers, a food safety and security expert at Michigan State University, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Penelope could not help but admire the quick, expert way he tied his sailor knots.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
I decided to talk to some experts and conduct my own personal hydration experiment to find out whether the claims are legitimate or basically all bull.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
But experts are warning that an unprecedented crisis of misinformation could be looming.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Oral-health experts are also turning to AI to analyze the growing amount of data from patients’ mouths.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Travellers' choices depend on a whole range of different factors, not least pricing, experts point out.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
But despite their scientific equipment, experts still couldn’t predict exactly when or where a tornado would strike.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
