specific

American  

[spi-sif-ik] / spɪˈsɪf ɪk /

adjective

1. having a special application, bearing, or reference; specifying, explicit, or definite.

   to state one's specific purpose.

2. specified, precise, or particular.

   a specific sum of money.

   Antonyms:

   vague

3. peculiar or proper to somebody or something, as qualities, characteristics, effects, etc..

   His specific problems got him into trouble.

4. of a special or particular kind.

5. concerned specifically with the item or subject named (used in combination).

   The Secretary addressed himself to crop-specific problems.

6. Biology. of or relating to a species.

   specific characters.

7. Medicine/Medical.

   1. (of a disease) produced by a special cause or infection.

   2. (of a remedy) having special effect in the prevention or cure of a certain disease.

8. Immunology. (of an antibody or antigen) having a particular effect on only one antibody or antigen or affecting it in only one way.

9. Commerce. noting customs or duties levied in fixed amounts per unit, as number, weight, or volume.

10. Physics.

    1. designating a physical constant that, for a particular substance, is expressed as the ratio of the quantity in the substance to the quantity in an equal volume of a standard substance, as water or air.

    2. designating a physical constant that expresses a property or effect as a quantity per unit length, area, volume, or mass.

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noun

• specifics
  plural

1. something specific, as a statement, quality, detail, etc.

2. Medicine/Medical. a specific remedy.

   There is no specific for the common cold.

specific British  

/ spɪˈsɪfɪk, ˌspɛsɪˈfɪsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. explicit, particular, or definite

   please be more specific

2. relating to a specified or particular thing

   a specific treatment for arthritis

3. of or relating to a biological species

   specific differences

4. (of a disease) caused by a particular pathogenic agent

5. physics

   1. characteristic of a property of a particular substance, esp in relation to the same property of a standard reference substance

      specific gravity

   2. characteristic of a property of a particular substance per unit mass, length, area, volume, etc

      specific heat

   3. (of an extensive physical quantity) divided by mass

      specific heat capacity

      specific volume

6. Also (rare): specifical.  commerce denoting a tariff levied at a fixed sum per unit of weight, quantity, volume, etc, irrespective of value

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noun

1. (sometimes plural) a designated quality, thing, etc

2. med any drug used to treat a particular disease

Synonym Usage

See special.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• specificity
  noun
• prespecific
  adjective
• unspecific
  adjective
• nonspecifically
  adverb
• prespecifically
  adverb
• specifically
  adverb
• unspecifically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• specifics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of specific

First recorded in 1625–35; from Medieval Latin specificus, equivalent to Latin speci(ēs) species + -ficus -fic

Explanation

If you describe something as specific, you're signaling that you're being precise. Say you ask your friend to meet you at a specific time and place — it means you want to meet her at, say, Ray's Pizza at 3:00 PM, not just anywhere. Specific also means "detailed and exact." That's the sense of the word that comes into play when a teacher advises you to be as specific as possible. Indeed, specific writing paints a picture. Say your friend Angela lives on a soybean farm in Iowa and takes Claritin for her pollen allergy. That might not be the most interesting fact in the world, but it's a lot more interesting than saying you have a friend who lives in the Midwest and takes medicine for a problem. If the sentence about Angela's pollen allergy is interesting at all, it's because of the specifics.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

specific specifics

Are there specific subjects that must be covered in the class, such as investing or budgeting?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

By agreeing to the arrangement, users were signed up for a scheme where they agreed to purchase a certain number of products over a specific amount of time at full price.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

Space Force opened a window for proposals from more companies, but the extremely specific criteria and a challenging timeline kept other potential bidders out of the mix.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Traditional bulk blood analysis measures average activity across a mixture of many cells, which can hide important differences in the behavior of specific cell types.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

In Catholicism, a religious order is a community of people who take solemn vows in accordance with a specific way of life.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

In his campaign for the top Fed job, Warsh said he was open to a rewrite of the accord, but he hasn’t given any specifics.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

He didn’t go into specifics about what Omani officials did that drew his ire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

But you should avoid oversharing, for instance including the specifics of your holiday plans, or boasting about things like second homes or expensive hobbies.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Pressed for specifics on how he would prevent people from losing their health insurance, Becerra hinted that the solution could be within the healthcare industry itself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Neither Maggie nor Kate wrote much about séance specifics.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• clear-cut
• definite
• definitive
• different
• distinct
• exact
• explicit
• individual
• limited
• peculiar
• precise
• special
• specialized
• unambiguous
• unequivocal
• unique