technique

American  

[tek-neek] / tɛkˈnik /

noun

• techniques
  plural

1. the manner and ability with which an artist, writer, dancer, athlete, or the like employs the technical skills of a particular art or field of endeavor.

2. the body of specialized procedures and methods used in any specific field, especially in an area of applied science.

3. method of performance; way of accomplishing.

4. technical skill; ability to apply procedures or methods so as to effect a desired result.

5. Informal. method of projecting personal charm, appeal, etc..

   He has the greatest technique with customers.

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technique British  

/ tɛkˈniːk /

noun

1. a practical method, skill, or art applied to a particular task

2. proficiency in a practical or mechanical skill

3. special facility; knack

   he had the technique of turning everything to his advantage

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• techniques
  plural

Etymology

Origin of technique

First recorded in 1810–20; from French: “technical” (adjective), “technic” (noun), from Greek technikós, techniká; see technic

Explanation

A technique is a method of doing some task or performing something. Your technique for opening drinks might be to twist the top off with your teeth. If so, your dentist better have a good tooth-repair technique. The noun technique can also refer to someone's skillfulness with the fundamentals of a particular task. A violinist could have excellent technique, but lack passion, for example. Writers usually have very individual writing techniques: One might need to write late at night and another early in the morning; some have to write by hand on paper, while others always use the computer.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

technique techniques

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said Pakistan's "technique and mindset" were "pretty ordinary".

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

The key word is “distillation,” a technique by which a new AI model taps the expertise of an existing one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

According to the researchers, that durability suggests the technique could potentially be developed into a longer-term treatment for liver disease.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

The time-consuming ice-making technique often used in Japan, which tends to produce a higher quality product, had largely been phased out in the US.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

Making books fly around her room like birds, calculating how far they can travel before she must adjust her technique.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Gray believes that teachers need hands-on training in the traditional techniques to rescue people from choking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The researchers are particularly interested in whether breathing techniques could influence food-related decisions, since eating behavior is strongly affected by both reward processing and a person's physical state.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

He shunned the shiny sales techniques of the big advertising agencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Instead of being limited mainly to rigid films, metal nitride nanocrystals could eventually be mixed into polymers, printed with inkjet techniques, or incorporated into fabrics and other flexible devices.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

She closed her eyes, to better remember all she had learned at school: not only the capitals of nations and techniques of watercolor painting, but the truly important things.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• approach
• art
• capability
• capacity
• craft
• facility
• know-how
• manner
• means
• mode
• performance
• procedure
• routine
• skill
• style
• system