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Synonyms

skilled

American  
[skild] / skɪld /

adjective

  1. having skill; trained or experienced in work that requires skill.

  2. showing, involving, or requiring skill, as certain work.


skilled British  
/ skɪld /

adjective

  1. possessing or demonstrating accomplishment, skill, or special training

  2. (prenominal) involving skill or special training

    a skilled job

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See skillful.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of skilled

First recorded in 1545–55; skill 1 + -ed 3

Explanation

Anyone skilled has special abilities. A skilled mechanic from the future might build a flying car. Then a skilled rapper can write a cool song about it. A skill is a well-earned talent, like being able to ride a bike, write a script, or spin a basketball on your finger. If you have skills, you're skilled! Congratulations. Being skilled in something usually requires practice. A skilled politician wins elections. A skilled hitter in baseball has a high batting average. A highly skilled job is one that requires special training. The opposite of skilled is unskilled, which would apply to someone without a particular talent.

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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.

See Examples For:

Housing production requires home builders with capacity, banks willing to finance them, skilled labor and a pipeline of projects capable of being built repeatedly.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 15, 2026

If you need higher levels of care such as assisted living, skilled nursing or dementia care, these facilities provide seamless support.

From MarketWatch Jul. 12, 2026

His guiding principle is simple: focus on key local resources, process them locally, create skilled jobs, and export value-added products through public-private partnerships.

From Barron's Jul. 10, 2026

This allows them to create focused factories that are increasingly skilled at providing care.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 9, 2026

Masterji Thakur continued: “Every Marveller skilled in spice work will have base ingredients. You must be adept in the flavors of the world. My homeland is a big part of that puzzle.”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

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