spec

noun

\ ˈspek

\

Definition of spec

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : specification —usually used in plural also : a single quantity (such as a dimension or a measure of performance) describing a product especially as part of a specification

2 : speculation built the house on spec

spec

verb

specced or spec'd\ ˈspekt

\; speccing

Definition of spec (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to write specifications for

spec

abbreviation

Definition of spec (Entry 3 of 3)

1 special; specialist

2 specifically

Examples of spec in a Sentence

Noun

parts built according to spec

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Otherwise, this low-end Android device has fairly standard specs: a 5.65-inch screen at 2160 x 1080 resolution with no notch, a Snapdragon 630 processor, 4GB of RAM, a headphone jack, USB-C port, and 64GB of storage. — Stefan Etienne, The Verge, "Russian search giant Yandex is releasing an Android phone," 5 Dec. 2018 MacBook Pro went the entire year without even a spec upgrade isn’t exactly an encouraging start. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: Apple," 27 Dec. 2018 The agency published a functional spec for what these devices were supposed to do, and authorized a few hundred manufacturers to build the things. — Nick Stockton, WIRED, "Truckers Take on Trump Over Electronic Surveillance Rules," 3 Apr. 2018 The 17-inch LG Gram will include standard ultrabook specs: 8th-gen Intel processors, up to 16GB or RAM, and up to 512GB SSD. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "New 17-inch LG Gram laptop weighs 2.9 pounds, has nearly 20-hour battery life," 12 Dec. 2018 In keeping with its parent company’s sophisticated sensibility, the Strategist offers a level of taste, not omniscience or product specs. — Eliza Brooke, Vox, "Sites like the Strategist, Wirecutter, and BuzzFeed Reviews want to help you find the best of the best.," 11 Dec. 2018 The good: The Cree Connected LED boasts solid lighting specs, strong ease of use, a wide range of control options and a terrific price point. — Cnet.com, The Seattle Times, "The best smart technology to add to your patio this fall," 15 Oct. 2018 Huawei Mate 10 Pro This impressive smartphone sports premium design, super slick screen with an 18:9 aspect ratio, spectacular battery life, and brag-worthy camera specs. — Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, "Amazon Prime Day: insider tips to getting the best deals and avoiding the hype," 9 July 2018 And naturally, the offending HP spec sheet, governing its Pavilion x360 convertible, has been removed. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Intel's Whiskey Lake notebook chips will offer big turbo boosts to get you to upgrade," 10 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The developer who sold a Los Angeles spec home to Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores for $100 million in 2016 is listing another property for $135 million. — Katherine Clarke, WSJ, "Los Angeles Mansion Shoots for a Record $135 Million," 12 June 2018 As with most ultrabooks, the more you it spec-out, the shorter the battery life becomes: Dell estimates that the base model of the XPS 13 with a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage will last nearly 20 hours on a single charge. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "XPS 13 2018 review: Dell’s improvements propel this laptop forward," 24 Feb. 2018 Now, there's an easier way—simply spec your Mustang GT from the factory with the $6,500 Performance Pack 2. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "We went to drive the new Ford Mustang—but a tornado messed things up," 17 May 2018 In fact, the 195.9-inch long 2019 ES specs out closer to the 1990 Lexus LS 400 flagship than the first ES 250. — Jeff Yip, Houston Chronicle, "Posher, sleeker 2019 Lexus ES will have Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa," 16 June 2018 The idea is meant to speed up the development process compared to the old model, in which a contractor builds the item to spec only after the design has been proven during testing. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Pentagon Doesn't Know How Much Anything Costs," 4 June 2018 Dedicated track rats may want to spec the C’s $8950 carbon-ceramic brakes and a set of grippier ultra-performance tires for $600, and hedonists may be interested in fancier paint, interior-trim upgrades, or one of AMG’s extra styling packages. — Mike Sutton, Car and Driver, "2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C / GT C Roadster / GT R," 7 Mar. 2018 For details on features, pricing or to spec out your own, go to http://bit.ly/2019Ram1500 Going long Among the most significant changes in the 2019 Ram 1500 is the four-inch extension of crew cabs. — Jeff Yip, Houston Chronicle, "Ram scores first strike as roomier, cushier all-new 2019 Ram 1500 begins shipping," 26 Mar. 2018 Buyers can no longer spec the slightly less powerful 333-hp version of this engine, and the rest of the A6’s powertrain carries over without any changes. — Michael Simari, Car and Driver, "2018 Audi A6," 22 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spec.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about spec

Dictionary Entries near spec

special ability

Statistics for spec

Last Updated

15 Jan 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for spec

The first known use of spec was in 1926

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More Definitions for spec

spec

noun

English Language Learners Definition of spec

: a detailed description of work to be done or materials to be used in a project ( US )

See the full definition for spec in the English Language Learners Dictionary

spec

transitive verb

\ ˈspek\

specced or spec'd\ ˈspekt

\; speccing\ ˈspe-kiŋ \

Legal Definition of spec

: to write specifications for

WORD OF THE DAY

substantive

important, real, or meaningful

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