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.

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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

These trends include specialized artificial intelligence, where management targets special-purpose accelerators tailored for markets like medical and finance for differentiation, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal

The extensive server network ensures multiple options if one server gets blocked, and specialized streaming servers optimize performance for buffer-free viewing.

From Salon

They are a small percentage of the overall workforce but fill specialized roles.

From The Wall Street Journal

Over long periods of time, repeated copying errors produced extra versions of the gene, and each copy gradually developed its own specialized role.

From Science Daily

The satellite’s primary function would be to do computations on specialized chips, powered by solar panels in a “sun-synchronous orbit” that keeps them exposed 24/7 to the sun’s powerful rays.

From Los Angeles Times