Showing results for "specialized"

• past tense form of specialize.
• past participle of specialize.

specialized

American  

[spesh-uh-lahyzd] / ˈspɛʃ əˌlaɪzd /

especially British, specialised

adjective

1. invested with a special character or restricted to a special function or field of activity.

   He campaigned for a specialized burn department to be established at the hospital.

   The humanities, once a highly specialized pursuit, have rapidly become a much broader conversation.

2. Biology. (of an organism or organ) adapted to a special function or environment.

   If the coastal sage scrub were to vanish, so would these specialized species of insects that are dependent on it.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of specialize.

Other Word Forms

• nonspecialized
  adjective
• overspecialized
  adjective
• unspecialized
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of specialized

specialize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Someone or something specialized has a specific purpose or function. A podiatrist is a specialized doctor. With months of specialized training, a person could learn to walk over hot coals. Good thing that there are doctors specialized in fixing feet. The word specialized comes from special. Something special is important, notable, or unique in some way. A specialized hammer is made for one, specific purpose. A specialized teacher has expertise in a particular subject. NASCAR drivers use specialized cars, and assemble-at-home furniture comes with specialized tools. The opposite of a specialized thing is a general thing, which could be used in many circumstances. Something specialized is tailored to one job.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

specialized

“One of the biggest takeaways from scientific research is that meowing seems in many ways to be specialized for communication with humans,” says Jay Schwartz, an associate professor of psychological science at Western Oregon University.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

After that, she’ll spend five weeks recovering with a specialized medical foster volunteer before moving to a long-term foster.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Similar sensory losses are sometimes linked to highly specialized diets.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

Many of these tasks are performed by specialized liver cells known as hepatocytes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

In 1935 the dominant lab in this category had been the Cavendish, which specialized in reactions induced by alpha rays and protons; Berkeley could only compete in research on deuterons.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik