proficient
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of proficient
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin prōficient-, stem of prōficiēns, present participle of prōficere “to advance, make progress,” equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + -ficere, combining form of facere “to make, do”; cf. do, efficient
Explanation
When someone has become good at something, they are proficient. After all those hours playing video games, you must be very proficient at them. Proficient comes from the Latin for making progress, so if someone is proficient, they have made so much progress that they've become good at something. Use proficient to talk about improvement through practice instead of natural ability; even a person with no inherent skill at language can become proficient in Latin. If you're proficient at tennis, you're good, but it doesn't imply the kind of mastery for which the expert is used.
Vocabulary lists containing proficient
Grade 9, List 1
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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ACT Vocabulary List
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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.
“We think of them becoming one of the defining companies building open-weight models and specialized enterprise intelligence. We think there’s an aperture for a highly proficient American solution,” Tanger told me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
People who spoke more languages tended to have younger-looking brains, and the effect also appeared stronger among those who learned another language earlier and became more proficient.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
He oversees a team of IT workers at four hospital locations and says interns are often technically proficient when they arrive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Overall achievement remains low: 33% of students scored as proficient or better in English on state tests; 20% in math.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The censorship delayed the delivery of mail because warders, some of whom were not proficient in English, might take as long as a month to censor a letter.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
