specialty

American  

[spesh-uhl-tee] / ˈspɛʃ əl ti /

noun

plural

specialties

1. a special or distinctive quality, mark, state, or condition.

2. a special subject of study, line of work, area of interest, or the like.

   His specialty is art criticism.

3. an article or service particularly dealt in, rendered, manufactured, etc., or one to which the provider, dealer, or manufacturer claims to devote special care.

   The manufacturer's specialty is fine hats.

   Synonyms:

   forte, badge, stamp, trademark

4. an article of unusual or superior design or quality.

5. a novelty; a new article.

6. an article with such strong consumer demand that it is at least partially removed from price competition.

7. a special or particular point, item, matter, characteristic, or peculiarity.

8. Law.

   1. a special agreement, contract, etc., expressed in an instrument under seal.

   2. a negotiable instrument not under seal.

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adjective

1. Theater. (in vaudeville)

   1. performing or performed in a manner that is unusual or not customary for a type of act, especially a performance involving dexterity or ingenuity, as a patter song.

      specialty actor; specialty act.

   2. (of a song or dance) isolated from the rest of the show.

      specialty number.

specialty British  

/ ˈspɛʃəltɪ /

noun

1. law a formal contract or obligation expressed in a deed

2. a special interest or skill

3. 1. a service or product specialized in, as at a restaurant

      roast beef was a specialty of the house

   2. ( as modifier )

      a specialty dish

4. a special or distinguishing feature or characteristic

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Etymology

Origin of specialty

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English specialte, specialite “particular affection, fondness,” from Old French especialte, specialte “special quality, favor, or privilege,” from Latin speciālitāt- (inflectional stem of speciālitās) “particularity, peculiarity”; special, -ity

Example Sentences

It was the latest and loudest example of their season-long specialty.

From The Wall Street Journal

That would allow Wall Street to analyze how durable earnings growth would be as the industry moves away from commodity eggs to specialty products—a positive shift that the stock price doesn’t currently reflect.

From Barron's

But companies like Furiosa are betting that for the next stage—referred to as “inference,” or using AI models after they’re trained—their specialty chips can be competitive.

From The Wall Street Journal

The deal is expected to strengthen Nvidia’s position in the market for chips to support inference, or running AI models, which is Groq’s specialty.

From Barron's

Within the broader data center equipment, liquid cooling — Vertiv’s specialty — “is one of the only product categories that is still somewhat ‘early’ in its up-cycle,” he wrote.

From Barron's

Related Words

• hobby
• major
• masterpiece
• profession
• speciality