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technical

American  
[tek-ni-kuhl] / ˈtɛk nɪ kəl /

adjective

  1. belonging or pertaining to an art, science, or the like.

    technical skill.

  2. peculiar to or characteristic of a particular art, science, profession, trade, etc..

    technical details.

  3. using terminology or treating subject matter in a manner peculiar to a particular field, as a writer or a book.

    a technical report.

  4. skilled in or familiar in a practical way with a particular art, trade, etc., as a person.

  5. of, relating to, or showing technique.

  6. technically demanding or difficult.

    a technical violin sonata; a technical ski run.

  7. designed or used for technically demanding sports or other activities.

    technical apparel.

  8. pertaining to or connected with the mechanical or industrial arts and the applied sciences.

    a technical school.

  9. so considered from a point of view in accordance with a stringent interpretation of the rules.

    a military engagement ending in a technical defeat.

  10. concerned with or dwelling on technicalities.

    You're getting too technical for me.

  11. noting a market in which prices are determined largely by supply and demand and other such internal factors rather than by general business, economic, or psychological factors that influence market activity.

    technical weakness or strength.
technical British  
/ ˈtɛknɪkəl /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or specializing in industrial, practical, or mechanical arts and applied sciences

    a technical institute

  2. skilled in practical and mechanical arts rather than theoretical or abstract thinking

  3. relating to or characteristic of a particular field of activity

    the technical jargon of linguistics

  4. existing by virtue of a strict application of the rules or a strict interpretation of the wording

    a technical loophole in the law

    a technical victory

  5. of, derived from, or showing technique

    technical brilliance

  6. (of a financial market) having prices determined by internal speculative or manipulative factors rather than by general or economic conditions

    a technical rally
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • hypertechnical adjective
  • hypertechnicalness noun
  • nontechnical adjective
  • nontechnicalness noun
  • overtechnical adjective
  • pretechnical adjective
  • quasi-technical adjective
  • technically adverb
  • technicalness noun
  • untechnical adjective

Etymology

Origin of technical

First recorded in 1610–20; technic + -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The service takes technical measures to harden the security of its server network.

From Salon

This design significantly lowers both cost and technical complexity.

From Science Daily

Reflecting on Tuesday's match, Esposito added: "From a technical standpoint, everything went wrong. The team hasn't worked together enough. Rebuilding will require a long-term strategy, chasing immediate wins with rushed decisions won't succeed."

From BBC

The outage is not the first time self-driving cars have faced technical difficulties.

From BBC

Oil futures rose in early trade on a likely technical recovery after the futures fell markedly overnight amid hopes for a quick end to the Mideast conflict.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.