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technical

[tek-ni-kuh l]
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adjective
  1. belonging or pertaining to an art, science, or the like: technical skill.
  2. peculiar to or characteristic of a particular art, science, profession, trade, etc.: technical details.
  3. using terminology or treating subject matter in a manner peculiar to a particular field, as a writer or a book: a technical report.
  4. skilled in or familiar in a practical way with a particular art, trade, etc., as a person.
  5. of, relating to, or showing technique.
  6. technically demanding or difficult: a technical violin sonata; a technical ski run.
  7. designed or used for technically demanding sports or other activities: technical apparel.
  8. pertaining to or connected with the mechanical or industrial arts and the applied sciences: a technical school.
  9. so considered from a point of view in accordance with a stringent interpretation of the rules: a military engagement ending in a technical defeat.
  10. concerned with or dwelling on technicalities: You're getting too technical for me.
  11. noting a market in which prices are determined largely by supply and demand and other such internal factors rather than by general business, economic, or psychological factors that influence market activity: technical weakness or strength.
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Origin of technical

First recorded in 1610–20; technic + -al1
Related formstech·ni·cal·ly, adverbtech·ni·cal·ness, nounhy·per·tech·ni·cal, adjectivehy·per·tech·ni·cal·ly, adverbhy·per·tech·ni·cal·ness, nounnon·tech·ni·cal, adjectivenon·tech·ni·cal·ly, adverbnon·tech·ni·cal·ness, nouno·ver·tech·ni·cal, adjectiveo·ver·tech·ni·cal·ly, adverbpre·tech·ni·cal, adjectivepre·tech·ni·cal·ly, adverbqua·si-tech·ni·cal, adjectivequa·si-tech·ni·cal·ly, adverbun·tech·ni·cal, adjectiveun·tech·ni·cal·ly, adverb
Can be confusedtechnical technological
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

industrialscientificscholarlymechanicalprofessionalspecializedspecialtechnologicalvocationalhigh-techabstruseoccupationalrestrictedmethodological

Examples from the Web for technical

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But this is abnormal and rather an affectation of technical skill.

    The Dramatic Values in Plautus

    Wilton Wallace Blancke

  • "Only technical ones for which I could have no possible use," said Linda.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • Clearly their constancy to this metre was not the result of any technical deficiency.

    The Lyric

    John Drinkwater

  • The most solemn of all realities have been degraded into the passwords of technical theology.

    Bunyan

    James Anthony Froude

  • This power, however, is not given by any technical rules, but is the gift of genius.

British Dictionary definitions for technical

technical

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or specializing in industrial, practical, or mechanical arts and applied sciencesa technical institute
  2. skilled in practical and mechanical arts rather than theoretical or abstract thinking
  3. relating to or characteristic of a particular field of activitythe technical jargon of linguistics
  4. existing by virtue of a strict application of the rules or a strict interpretation of the wordinga technical loophole in the law; a technical victory
  5. of, derived from, or showing techniquetechnical brilliance
  6. (of a financial market) having prices determined by internal speculative or manipulative factors rather than by general or economic conditionsa technical rally
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Derived Formstechnically, adverbtechnicalness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for technical

adj.

1610s, "skilled in a particular art or subject," formed in English from Greek tekhnikos "of art," from tekhne "art, skill, craft" (see techno-). The sense narrowed to "having to do with the mechanical arts" (1727). Basketball technical foul (one which does not involve contact between opponents) is recorded from 1934. Boxing technical knock-out (one in which the loser is not knocked out) is recorded from 1921; abbreviation TKO is from 1940s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper