Word family noun skill deskilling adjective skilful/skillful skilled ≠ unskilled verb deskill adverb skilfully/skillfully
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishskillskill /skɪl/ ●●● S2 W1 noun [countable, uncountable] CANGOOD ATan ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practised it → talent Reading and writing are two different skills. Many jobs today require computer skills.skill in/at He was valued for his skill in raising money for the company.with skill The whole team played with great skill and determination.COLLOCATIONSverbshave a skillHe didn’t have the right skills for the job.learn a skill (also acquire a skill formal)People can acquire new skills while they are unemployed.develop a skillWe will give you the opportunity to develop your skills.use a skillI am sure you can use your communication skills to get your message across.require/take skill (=to need skill)It’s a difficult task, which requires skill and experience.lack a skill (=not have a skill)He lacked both the skills and the confidence to take on the job.hone a skill (=improve it)The course will help you hone your writing skills.master a skill (=learn it so that your skill is very good)Many of these children have not mastered basic academic skills.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + skillgreat/considerable skill (=a lot of skill)He played with great skill.good skillsHe’s got good management skills.basic skillsThe basic skills can be acquired very quickly.practical skillsStudents will have the opportunity to learn a lot of practical skills.technical skillsGood technical skills are not enough.management skillsShe needs to develop her management skills.computer/IT skillsWe’re looking for someone with good IT skills.reading/writing skillsTheir reading skills are poor.communication skills (=the ability to communicate well with people)The nurse must use her communication skills to help the patient feel at ease.social skills (=the ability to get on well with people)Unsociable toddlers were found to have poor social skills later.people/interpersonal skills (=the ability to deal with people)He wasn’t a good communicator and had no people skills at all.language skills (=the ability to use a language)We need to hire people with useful language skills. THESAURUSskill [countable, uncountable] an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practised itHe plays the piano with great skill.communication/language/computer etc skillsThe course will help you improve your communication skills.talent [countable, uncountable] a natural ability to do something well which can be developed with practiceShe was a young artist with a lot of talent.She showed a talent for acting from an early age. He is a man of many talents.genius [uncountable] very great ability, which only a few people haveThe opera shows Mozart’s genius as a composer.Picasso was a painter of genius.gift [countable] a natural ability to do something very well, which you were born withYou can see that he has a gift for the game.Winterson has great gifts as a writer.flair [singular, uncountable] skill for doing something, especially something that needs imagination and creativityThe job does require some creative flair.She has a flair for languages.expertise [uncountable] specialized knowledge of a technical subject, which you get from experience of doing that type of workThe technical expertise for building the dam is being provided by a US company.a/the knack /næk/ [singular] informal a special skill for doing a particular thing, especially a simple everyday thingBreadmaking is easy once you get the knack.He has a knack for making people feel relaxed. Examples from the Corpus
skill• He honed his pilots' aerial skills to so fine a point that their kill ratio reached ten to one.• Most of us learn the knowledge and skills needed to drive a car fairly easily.• You need good communication skills for this job.• You need computer skills for most office jobs.• Marcia's computer skills were not good enough for the job.• On the course you will develop skills in business management.• He had hoped to repeat his successes of 1985 and 1987, but could not contain the accurate drawing skills of King.• The Australians played with great skill and determination.• Price handles the role of the angry wife with great skill.• You have to be able to learn new skills quickly.• At a later stage the study will be extended to differences in office skills.• In addition, managers often can build organizational skills by hiring new people instead of getting existing people to learn and change.• In the primary grades, teachers put emphasis on language and reading skills.• Being a good manager requires a number of highly specialized skills.• The bird in this treatment would have the opportunity to learn the skill by imitation.• These exercises develop the student's reading and writing skills.skill in/at• It happens at the moment anyway, so why not sanction it and make it a skill in itself.• Thorough knowledge of construction practices and skills in areas such as reading and evaluating blueprints and plans are essential.• Changing consumer shopping patterns and lack of food management skills at the company subsequently led to below-expected results.• I have no skill in speaking and there, is no witness to my innocence.• The emerging New Forms of production demand ever higher levels of skill in the workforce at all levels in the hierarchy.• Beatrice Webb and Erving Goffman for mastery of skills in descriptive sociology.• Many top speedway riders will be pitting their skills in the National motor cycle grass track meeting.• Likewise any prisoner with skills in a basic trade will be encouraged to share them with other inmates.From Longman Business Dictionaryskillskill /skɪl/ noun [countable, uncountable] an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practised itYou need computing skills for that job.The successful applicant should be able to use their own initiative and have good communication skills.There are still excellent jobs available for those with the right specialist skills and knowledge.skill at/inThis five-day course provides the opportunity for people to explore and develop their own managerial skills in work which requires leadership. → people skills → transferable skillOrigin skill (1100-1200) Old Norse skil “good judgment, knowledge” 