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:
“If a vehicle is being driven or supervised by a human specialist, they might also choose to charge on the road while taking their break.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Medicare Advantage plans offer extra benefits such as vision and dental coverage and cap annual out-of-pocket costs but have a limited choice of doctors and extra requirements or prior authorizations for specialist referrals.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Moonbeam involves local police divisions receiving additional specialist support in case trouble breaks out on their patch.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
The acquisition of Collins, a hydraulic systems specialist, has allowed Safran to combine that expertise with its own strengths in electrical systems.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
It is highly infective, lethally hot, a liquid that would scare the daylights out of a military biohazard specialist.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
“Thought McManus did a really good job last week,” coach Sean McVay said. “but we’re looking at just being able to add value to our specialists with the different situations that have occurred.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Also at risk: more than 100 positions, from custodians to teacher specialists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
More specialists can coexist with lower overall labor requirements.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
During the 1950s and 1960s, anthropologists and mushroom specialists traveled to Papua New Guinea to investigate.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
The latter two islands supported hereditary part-time craft specialists, including canoe builders, navigators, stone masons, bird catchers, and tattooers.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
