- special ability in a task, sport, etc, esp ability acquired by training
- something, esp a trade or technique, requiring special training or manual proficiency
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
skill1 /skɪl/USA pronunciation
n.
skill•ful•ly, adv.: She had skillfully persuaded him to accept her ideas.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the knowledge or ability to do something well: [uncountable]She showed great skill in handling difficult problems.[countable]the skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a foreign language.
- a craft, trade, or job requiring special training:[countable]the skills of glassblowing.
skill•ful•ly, adv.: She had skillfully persuaded him to accept her ideas.
skill1
(skil),USA pronunciation n.
skill2 (skil),USA pronunciation v.i. [Archaic.]
- the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well:Carpentry was one of his many skills.
- competent excellence in performance;
expertness;
dexterity:The dancers performed with skill. - a craft, trade, or job requiring manual dexterity or special training in which a person has competence and experience:the skill of cabinetmaking.
- [Obs.]understanding;
discernment. - [Obs.]reason;
cause.
- Old Norse skil distinction, difference; cognate with Dutch geschil difference, quarrel. See skill2
- Middle English 1125–75
- 1. proficiency, facility. 2. deftness, cleverness.
- 1. inability.
skill2 (skil),USA pronunciation v.i. [Archaic.]
- to matter.
- to help;
avail.
- Old Norse skilja to distinguish, divide, akin to skil (see skill1), Old English scylian to separate, Gothic skilja butcher, Lithuanian skélti to split
- Middle English skilien 1150–1200
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
skill /skɪl/ n
'skill' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ability
- able
- academy
- accomplishment
- accounting
- acrobat
- acrobatics
- act
- adept
- algorism
- amateurish
- architect
- arithmetic
- art
- artless
- artefact
- artifice
- artificial
- artistic
- artistry
- awkward
- bad
- bailiwick
- boffin
- boffo
- book-keeping
- brush up
- Calamity Jane
- camp-drafting
- campanology
- can
- capable
- chess
- chicane
- chop
- chops
- clumsy
- competent
- contrivance
- craft
- crude
- cultivate
- cunning
- demanding
- department
- deskill
- developmental disorder
- dexterity
- diplomacy
- diver