specialist 1 of 2

noun

Definition of specialistnext
as in professional
a person who has a lot of training, knowledge, or skill in a particular area She was a specialist in chemical engineering with many years of experience.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

specialist

2 of 2

adjective

variants or specialistic
as in specialized
involving, related to, or being special skills or knowledge needed to do a particular job The job requires specialist knowledge.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of specialist
Noun
Known online as The Chocolate Guy, Guichon hosted Netflix’s School of Chocolate, where eight dessert specialists competed with their own chocolate builds for a cash prize and the chance to teach a master class at his pastry academy. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 13 July 2026 This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI. — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026
Adjective
Including some rather nasty, big corpo bullies who enlist specialist teams to hunt down clues, and other players, too. — Grace Dean, Space.com, 1 July 2026 Early tastings by specialist titles have already marked out the inaugural 10-year-old as a serious, distinctly English addition to the category. — Lewis Chester, Robb Report, 27 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for specialist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specialist
  1. professional
  2. specialized
  3. consultant
  4. expert
  5. master
  6. technical
  7. special
Noun
  • Patients would initiate the request, to be reviewed by health professionals within 15 days, and then confirm it after a period of reflection lasting at least two days.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 July 2026
  • It’s designed for both casual users and professionals who want control over their files without the friction, whether that’s converting formats, editing text, or keeping documents organized.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 14 July 2026
Definition of professional
Adjective
  • For clothing to qualify as a business expense, it typically must be specifically required for the job and not suitable for everyday wear, such as uniforms, protective gear, or specialized safety equipment.
    — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
  • Residents needing specialized care must travel to larger cities.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
Definition of specialized
Noun
  • Sharing often means becoming an unpaid internal consultant, and managers frequently favor compliant workers over innovators.
    — Mark Murphy, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • Last week, San Diego City Council members voted unanimously to approve a contract with city consultant Civic San Diego to construct what’s known as the B Street Pedestrian Corridor project.
    — Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026
Definition of consultant
Adjective
  • For full daily and monthly horoscopes as well as expert readings, see our full Horoscopes experience.
    — USA TODAY, USA Today, 10 July 2026
  • Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 9 July 2026
Definition of expert
Noun
  • Also contributing heavily to that deep black-on-light gray contrast is the custom black entry door prepared by the master craftsmen at Tern Overland.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 July 2026
  • These two masters of image management provided colliding—utopian versus dystopian—scenes at contrasting Fourth of July weekend mega events.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 8 July 2026
Definition of master
Adjective
  • This means the shortage isn’t limited to highly technical fields.
    — Sarah Hernholm, Forbes.com, 12 July 2026
  • As the match went on, realising that his team had the upper hand in possession, Solbakken introduced technical wingers from the bench in Oscar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup to better dictate the flow of play.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 11 July 2026
Definition of technical
Adjective
  • The project won a special award at Moscow's Archimedes innovation exhibition this year.
    — Fatima Faizi, NPR, 10 July 2026
  • Sunny hikes call for special clothing that keeps harsh UV rays off your skin.
    — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 10 July 2026
Definition of special

Browse Nearby Words

specialisms
specialist
specialists
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Specialist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specialist. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on specialist

Nglish: Translation of specialist for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of bibelot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All