expertise
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of expertise
First recorded in 1865–70; from French: “survey, report (made by experts),” with -ise understood as an abstract noun suffix; see expert, -ise 2
Explanation
When you're an expert at something, you show expertise — or an exceptional knowledge of the subject. "He had expertise in accounting, having excelled in math, but he had even more expertise in dancing, his hobby since a small child." Expertise has obvious roots in the word expert. Just about any interest or field has a place for experts. Just as one individual has expertise in world religions, another may have expertise in computer gaming. Working hard or immersing yourself in a specialty leads to expertise, and it comes through both study and hands-on experience.
Vocabulary lists containing expertise
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 41-50
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"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Eight
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English Words Derived from French, List 4
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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.
Technology automates, it complements and it creates new expertise and new work.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026
Princeton’s labs didn’t have the technical expertise in carbon capture that the other two schools had.
From Salon • Jun. 26, 2026
"A topic that regularly accompanies what we are doing is how are we doing it? How do we include local expertise?"
From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026
“I felt it would be appropriate to consult other physicians with expertise in bone healing/bone metabolism,” ElAttrache told the New York Times via text.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2026
The decline tracks the Maya priesthood’s steady loss of the scientific expertise necessary to maintain its complex calendars.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
