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.

---

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

---

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

Hiding vegetables is a technique we tend to leave behind somewhere around the age of dino nuggets and mashed-potato volcanoes.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

The agent set up fake accounts and impersonated humans in a hacking technique known as social engineering as part of the attempt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

I would have put on music and embraced the mild chaos of learning a new technique.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

Because the protection comes from a continuous mechanical field that is compatible with phononic cavities, the technique could operate inside the same structures that may eventually connect stationary nodes in quantum networks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

With Autumn, Ama, and Woo crouched behind it, I know that my phone.a-friend technique has run its course.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Traditional fabrication relies on ultraprecision machinery to squeeze more circuits onto a single chip; Huawei is trying to improve computing efficiency through techniques such as layering circuits within a single chip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

“The T. rex teeth we studied were collected decades ago, before the analytical techniques we used were even possible.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

"Then we apply those techniques to these explosive eruptions, and we are able to reconstruct the plumbing system with an unprecedented precision."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

With other actors he was put through a medical boot camp for speed learning of medical techniques and jargon.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

“But she is employing the literary conceits and techniques of a novel. And the meeting you speak of has already occurred—you have been reading it for the past quarter of an hour.”

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

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