special interest
Americannoun
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a political or economic stake in something.
Japan had a special interest in the South China Sea.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of special interest
An Americanism dating back to 1785–90
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.
Why powerful labor unions, elected officials and special interest groups backed Eric Swalwell for govenor despite rumors about past inappropriate behavior.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
All of which may be of special interest to the thousands of Americans who are now turning 65 every day, during the era known as “Peak 65.”
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
Just 2.5% of listed sites in England are Grade I. Around 5.8% are Grade II*, meaning they are particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
He had special interest in landscaping details, insisting on low-density building complexes, deciding the company should spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to plant new trees, says Mayer, now 37.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
But this is a sober, industrious field, and the work goes on methodically, with special interest just now in the molecular genetics of organelles.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions 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.
