specialism

noun spe·cial·ism \ ˈspe-shə-ˌli-zəm \

|Updated on: 19 Jul 2018

Definition of specialism

1 : specialization in an occupation or branch of learning

2 : a field of specialization : specialty

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Recent Examples of specialism from the Web

This should lead to a serious discussion in Europe over how the allies can best pool military resources, spread risk and exploit national specialisms to take more responsibility for their own defence.

— The Economist, "How policy debates in Europe become untethered from reality," 12 July 2018
The researchers created this by observing social interactions between 400 doctors, nurses and technicians during 200 operations covering eight specialisms.

— The Economist, "Mixed surgical teams lead to less medical error," 2 July 2018
China has piles of data and notable companies in AI specialisms, for example Face++ in facial recognition and iFlytek in speech.

— The Economist, "SchumpeterHow does Chinese tech stack up against American tech?," 15 Feb. 2018
In America only 15% of women with graduate degrees in science and engineering, which are in short supply, were employed in their specialism in 2011, compared with 31% of men.

— The Economist, "The gender pay gap," 5 Oct. 2017
With scrupulous respect for the service these women gave, Ms. Alexievich identifies each by specialism and rank.

— catherine merridale, WSJ, "Myths of Mother Russia," 11 Aug. 2017
Ings: Each specialism lost people during the Great Purge [ordered by Stalin to scare and eliminate opposition between 1936 and 1938].

— marina koren, The Atlantic, "The Soviet Union's Scientific Marvels Came From Prisons," 5 May 2017

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

First Known Use of specialism

1846

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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SPECIALISM Defined for English Language Learners

specialism

noun

Definition of specialism for English Language Learners

: a particular subject or area of study or practice

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