specialist
Americannoun
-
specialists
plural
-
a person who is devoted to one subject or to one particular branch of a subject or pursuit.
-
a medical practitioner who devotes attention to a particular class of diseases, patients, etc.
-
U.S. Army. an enlisted person of one of four grades having technical or administrative duties, the grades corresponding to those of corporal through sergeant first class but not requiring the exercise of command.
-
Stock Exchange. a member of an exchange who buys and sells a single stock or a particular group of stocks in their own name or for other stockbrokers and thus helps maintain the market in those securities on that exchange.
noun
-
-
a person who specializes in or devotes himself to a particular area of activity, field of research, etc
-
( as modifier )
specialist knowledge
-
-
an enlisted rank in the US Army denoting technical qualifications that entitle the holder to a noncommissioned officer's pay
-
ecology an organism that has special nutritional requirements and lives in a restricted habitat that provides these Compare generalist
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of specialist
Explanation
A specialist has an area of expertise in a profession or branch of learning. Call an ear, nose, and throat specialist if you can’t shake a stuffy nose, but go to a Shakespeare specialist to learn about King Lear. Specialist started off as a word used just for doctors who focused particular diseases or parts of the body, but now a specialist can be someone with a narrow focus in any field. A specialist is any professional with a specialty — lawyers are specialists because each lawyer deals with a specific kind of legal work. To be a specialist you have to study or get experience in a specific field for a long time.
Vocabulary lists containing specialist
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
National Nurses Week: Hospital People and Places
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Things Not Seen
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
De Meo, widely considered a turnaround specialist, has accelerated his management overhauls in a bid to revive sales and a share price that has dropped roughly 40 percent since January.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
The man, who is a health worker and has not been identified, landed at RAF Northolt before being transported to a specialist infectious diseases unit at the Royal Free Hospital in north London.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Aviation-security specialist Osprey Flight Solutions cautioned airlines that the reports appeared consistent with a coordinated campaign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Founded by Bob James, AerFin has developed from a south Wales business into a global aviation aftermarket specialist.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
For example, there could be an endgame specialist, an opening theoretician, a physical trainer, a “go-for,” and sometimes a psychologist.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Increasingly, in America’s overcrowded hospitals, they are turning into medical waiting rooms, creating vulnerabilities for patients who aren’t being seen by the right specialists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Turbine blade specialists continue to work on improving the capabilities of this little-known technology.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
President Kim Noltemy’s strategy, to divide labor and empower an array of specialists, is a bold counter to the traditional model of the all-powerful artistic and music director.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
He attends a meeting of the local black-lung association, attended by medical specialists and their patients and moderated by respiratory therapist Marcy Freeman, director of New Beginnings Pulmonary Rehab.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
However, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, science became too technical and mathematical for the philosophers, or anyone else except a few specialists.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
