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.
Among the recent hires: a full-time biodiversity manager to provide ecological expertise for the royal lands.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
Its simple, optimistic message — polished with the help of BP’s sophisticated public relations expertise — had an irresistible allure.
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
“Greenspan used his expertise as an economic empiricist to convince both sides to agree on a singular, shared set of actuarial facts. Quite an accomplishment.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026
Sandman has reduced his expertise to a tidy equation: Risk = hazard + outrage.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
