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.
In Renaissance Italy, with its patchwork of independent city-states and republics, widespread warfare encouraged the expansion of citizen militias proficient in firearms for civic defense.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Thus, the percentage of these Locke students who scored as proficient in English improved by 18.2 percentage points.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
In court, there were only a limited number of messages from EL, all of them sent to Lavrynovych and Carpiuc, which showed him writing in formal Russian and far less proficient Ukrainian.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
In the 2007-08 school year — the final year under district operation — about 12% of students tested as proficient in English Language Arts, and about 3% in math.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
As far as Paul’s concerned I’m just another SOE agent to be trained up quickly—not sure how this happened, but at any rate I am learning to be proficient in the SOE’s “Double Tap” system.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
