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Glite Dictionary
🎓 To focus deeply 🦎 To adapt 📝 To specify
to specialize

to specialize

28 4.4
To change so a living thing fits a particular environment
  • verb
  • /ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : especializarse (en)
  • Like if we are working with the trees, we specialize the robot to cut trees.
  • more specialized
  • specialize in a particular
  • highly specialized

But if you look at biological systems, first, they are robust, and then they specialize to become anything else.

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Examples

  • Uh, the restaurant we're going to, uh, they specialize in duck.

    Starting Over (1979)

  • Care homes will certainly have to diversify and specialize to handle the impact of public funding cuts.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Now, if it's gold you want, just so happens that I specialize in that line of work.

  • Some procedures are so specialized that you might have to travel to get them done.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The factory was down the road, and it specialized in wet feed.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Darklake is a huge corporation specializing in genetic research.

    The Gorge (2025)

  • Trade barriers were gradually lowered, and countries specialized along lines of comparative advantage.

    Academic text (1991)

  • They run a travel expedition company specializing in Arctic tours.

    Rage of the Yeti (2011)

  • The stoves were manufactured by a well-known company which also specialized in baking ovens.

    Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

  • As the weeks pass, cells start to specialize and forms begin to take shape.

Synonyms

to develop
vsto specialize
905 1.6

To grow or change slowly to become more mature

is change with a clear aim toward one specific use or role
to evolve
vsto specialize
591 4.0

To change or develop slowly over time, often becoming more advanced

is change directed at a single purpose or environmental fit
to adapt
vsto specialize
178 3.2

To change something so it fits a new use or situation

is more specifically aimed at fitting one exact function or environment
to differentiate
vsto specialize
  • Specialized
9 5.5

To change so a cell or part does a different job

is more about changing for one specific purpose or environment
to functionalize
vsto specialize
  • Specialized
1 8.0

Change a material so it can do a specific job or have a new property

is broader and covers change toward a dedicated purpose or use

Antonyms

unspecialized
1 5.4

Not made for one special purpose and useful in many ways

Phrasal Verbs

to specialize in
  • US
165 3.9

To focus on one subject and become an expert in it

How Specialized

to fine-tune
26 4.2
to specialize
  • Specialized
28 4.4
to differentiate
  • Specialized
9 5.5
to adapt
178 3.2

Surface Forms

specialize infinitive
specialized past
specialized past participle
specializing present participle
specializes third person singular

Morphology

specialize = special (transparent) = special + ize

Standard derivation: '-ize' creates a verb meaning 'make or become special/specific', which maps clearly to 'adapt or develop for a specific purpose'.

Etymology

The word specialize comes from special, meaning 'made for one purpose'. In nature or work, to specialize means to change or develop to do one job very well.