From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspecificspe‧cif‧ic1 /spəˈsɪfɪk/ ●●● S1 W1 AWL adjective 1 [only before noun]ONLY a specific thing, person, or group is one particular thing, person, or group OPP non-specific games suitable for specific age groups a specific example of alcohol’s effect on the body2 DETAILdetailed and exact OPP non-specific Mr Howarth gave us very specific instructions.specific about Could you be more specific about what you’re looking for?3 → specific to something
Examples from the Corpus
specific• Tauscher refused to be specific about his future plans.• Generally, however, the handbook provisions in question must be specific and clear.• Each B-cell makes its own specific antibody, depending on the type of intruder to which it is responding.• Figure 4 depicts the concentrations of IgM specific antibody secreting cells to beta lactoglobulin and casein in these patients.• Rooney wouldn't comment on specific candidates for the job.• Those consequences have been highlighted by my hon. Friend with specific examples from industries within his constituency.• We still have location-based teams but these work in partnership to make the best use of specific expertise at particular sites.• Research is an active and formally organised search for specific information for a specific purpose.• The Senate voted to ban nine specific models of assault weapons.• User attitudes to specific presentations and to the tape/slide method of instruction were also studied.• Power plant employees must follow very specific safety guidelines.• The true self must be understood as engaging in the world in a specific way as part of a community.specificspecific2 AWL noun 1 → specifics2 [countable] medicalMD a drug that has an effect only on one particular diseaseExamples from the Corpus
specific• He wants to know about specifics, about problems and how I solve them.• But he was unable to produce any specifics.• She was not allowed by her publicist to reveal any specifics about what new scandals she may have uncovered.• As yet there has been little public debate on the specifics of the options or the associated design choices.• Perhaps custodial aesthetics, which is directed more to the specifics of particular cultures, in some way addresses his concerns.• Dole has endorsed the concept of a flat tax but has been reluctant to commit to specifics.• Only as discussions settled down to specifics did some of the reasoning become clear.Origin specific1 (1600-1700) Late Latin specificus, from Latin species; → SPECIES 