specialization

[ spesh-uh-luh-zey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of specializing, or pursuing a particular line of study or work:

   Medical students with high student loans often feel driven into specialization.

2. Biology. the adaptation of an organism or organ to a special function or environment:

   Basic biology suggests the selective pressures leading to convergent evolutionary specialization among desert-dwelling species.

3. the act of being restricted to some specific, or the act of becoming specialized.

Other Words From

• de·special·i·zation noun
• nonspe·cial·i·zation noun
• subspe·cial·i·zation noun
• super·special·i·zation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of specialization¹

specializ(e) + -ation

Example Sentences

The two electrochemical reactors work in series -- first converting CO2 to CO, then CO to multi-carbon products -- which allows the system to be more efficient through task specialization.

From Science Daily

The atlas is an important new resource in understanding brain development, neuron specialization and other brain functions.

From Science Daily

That kind of specialization can ultimately “help philanthropy listen better” to grantees and their causes, says Enright.

From Seattle Times

The new reconstruction of the skeleton also sheds light on specializations for head mobility in Tiktaalik and new details of the fish's pelvic fin anatomy.

From Science Daily

They found the social environment to be a core factor in determining the behavioral specialization of founding queens.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• activity
• art
• duty
• employment
• endeavor
• industry
• job
• office
• practice
• responsibility
• skill
• task
• thing
• trade