specification

American  

[spes-uh-fi-kay-shuhn] / ˌspɛs ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• specifications
  plural

1. the act of specifying.

2. Usually specifications.

   1. a detailed description or assessment of requirements, dimensions, materials, etc., as of a proposed building, machine, bridge, etc.

   2. Computers. a detailed description of the hardware installed, including the memory capacity, processor speed, and graphics card model.

3. a particular item, aspect, calculation, etc., in such a description.

4. something specified, as in a bill of particulars; a specified particular, item, or article.

   Synonyms:

   qualification, condition, requirement

5. an act of making specific.

6. the state of having a specific character.

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specification British  

/ ˌspɛsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of specifying

2. (in patent law) a written statement accompanying an application for a patent that describes the nature of an invention

3. a detailed description of the criteria for the constituents, construction, appearance, performance, etc, of a material, apparatus, etc, or of the standard of workmanship required in its manufacture

4. an item, detail, etc, specified

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonspecification
  noun
• prespecification
  noun
• respecification
  noun
• superspecification
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• specifications
  plural

Etymology

Origin of specification

First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin specificātiōn- (stem of specificātiō ), equivalent to specificāt(us) (past participle of specificāre “to mention, describe”; see specific, -ate ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

We sometimes call them "specs," but a specification has no relationship to eyeglasses! Instead, it is an explicit detail of a design, presenting the exact way something specific must be constructed. For example, blueprints contain the specifications for a building. In the 17th century, the word specification emerged with the meaning of giving something a specific quality. The technical meaning, applied to building and engineering plans, developed in the late 18th century. The meaning of the word is precise, referring to specific plans, although just because it's a specification doesn't mean it is accurate. Science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein once had his character Lazarus Long make the comment, "An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

specification specifications

The team has decided to split the specification of its cars at Marina Bay after an upgrade in Malaysia last weekend failed to provide the expected step forward in performance.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Tech commentator Matt Robb reported that Muse gave a would-be buyer of an item he posted for sale a price below his specification and gave the buyer his home address.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

CoreWeave looks like “the company that can deliver significant GPU capacity on time and at spec,” he said, referring to specification, which indicates a chip’s task and performance.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Arcade said it has also contributed directly to the open-source MCP specification and open-source technology that lets customers build their own MCP servers with the same capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

The very earliest events in the specification of an embryo—the specification of the body axis, of front and back, and left versus right—were among the last to be understood.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

But surely the folks at Suno and Udio — prompt-based AI apps that spit out “newly” “created” “songs” to a user’s specifications — could do what Mars does for a fraction of the cost, right?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Very much like an election, in other words, only one populated with women who were scalpel-sculpted, lifted, tanned and tucked to surgical specifications.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

We have taken what we already know about superfluid helium and quantum technologies and turned that into an educated design, with the parameters and specifications needed to build one.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

But even keeping that in mind, some would argue that these bots are customizable enough that you could hack and change them anyway to your preferred specifications, like using first-person pronouns.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

Every piece of equipment had to be machined to the most demanding specifications and designed for the heaviest duty.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• blueprint
• spec
• stipulation