spec

[spek]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spec ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Usually specs. specification(def 2).

speculation.

adjective

built, done, bought, etc., as a speculation: the construction of spec houses.

verb (used with object), spec'd or specked or specced, spec'·ing or speck·ing or spec·cing.

to provide specifications for: Their newest truck was spec'd by a computer.

Idioms

on spec, made, built, or done with hopes of but no assurance of payment or a sale; without commitment by a client or buyer: ad illustrations done on spec; luxury homes built on spec and sold before completion.

Origin of spec

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; by shortening

Related formsspec·’er, speck·er, noun

specs

[speks]

plural noun Informal.

spectacles; eyeglasses.

specifications.

Origin of specs

First recorded in 1800–10; by shortening

spec.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spec

Cody Towse, 29-year-old Sgt.1st Class Jeffrey Baker, 24-year-old Spec.
Heroes of a Forgotten War|Michael Daly|May 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A Facebook photo shows four of them, 28-year-old Staff Sgt Francis Phillips, 19-year-old Spec.
Heroes of a Forgotten War|Michael Daly|May 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Then comes the spec, circus slang for the spectacle that opens the show.
Giovanni Zoppé’s Real-Life Family Circus|Malcolm Jones|October 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The director, Peter Hermes, had an online sample reel of previous work that included a spec Doritos commercial.
Two California Women Turn Themselves Into Real-Life Versions of Thelma and Louise|Michael Daly|January 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Richard Rushfield is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and the author of On Spec: A Novel of Young Hollywood.
Memories in the Facebook Age|Richard Rushfield|November 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
"It's worth possibly—pos-sib-bly fifteen dollars as a spec," he said.
Our Square and the People in It|Samuel Hopkins Adams
Take the front cockpit alone, Maynard; Carnes and I will get in the rear pit with the spec and guide you.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, October, 1930|Various
The mordant for a full red may be acetate of alumina, of spec.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
If the pain continues, use this purge:—Take a drachm of spec.
The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher|Anonymous
"I spec' he wasn't a good man 'fore he died and got to go to the Bad Place," suggested Frances.
Miss Minerva and William Green Hill|Frances Boyd Calhoun

British Dictionary definitions for spec

spec

noun

on spec as a speculation or gambleall the tickets were sold so I went to the theatre on spec

adjective

(prenominal) Australian and NZ speculativea spec developer

Word Origin for spec

C19: short for speculation or speculative

spec.

abbreviation for

specification

speculation

specs

pl n informal

short for spectacles

short for specificationsSee specification

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

Word Origin and History for spec

short for specification, 1956. Related: Specs.

Idioms and Phrases with spec

spec

see on spec.

spec

noun

adjective

verb (used with object), spec'd or specked or specced, spec'·ing or speck·ing or spec·cing.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Idioms

Origin of spec

specs

plural noun Informal.

Origin of specs

spec.

Examples from the Web for spec

spec

noun

adjective

Word Origin for spec

spec.

abbreviation for

specs

pl n informal

spec