skill
[noun]
Synonyms: expertise, ability, art, cleverness, competence, craft, dexterity, facility, knack, proficiency, skilfulness, talent, technique

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Related Words: ease, skillfulness

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English Thesaurus: skill, talent, genius, gift, flair, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

skill S2 W1 /skɪl/ noun [uncountable and countable]
[Word Family: noun: skill, deskilling; adjective: SKILFUL/SKILLFUL, skilled ≠ unskilled; verb: deskill; adverb: SKILFULLY/SKILLFULLY]
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old Norse; Origin: skil 'good judgment, knowledge']
an 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.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

skill
noun
ADJ. considerable, consummate, extraordinary, great, remarkable He is a negotiator of considerable skill. With consummate skill, she steered the conversation away from any embarrassing subjects.
good, poor She has good organizational skills.
basic, necessary the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic
essential, important, marketable, practical, transferable, useful training in problem-solving and other transferable skills
new, old to learn some new skills
special, specialist No special skills or knowledge are required for the job. | professional | analytical | entrepreneurial, management, managerial, organizational | diplomatic, negotiating | linguistic, reading, writing | business, communication, computer, interpersonal, language, research, social, study, survival It is important to develop good study skills.
manual | artistic, culinary, medical, military, musical, political, scientific, tactical, technical
QUANT. range, set She had to develop a whole new set of skills when she changed job.
degree, level an operation that called for a high degree of skill
VERB + SKILL have, possess | lack | need, require, take a feat requiring skill and patience
acquire, develop, learn, pick up | demonstrate, display, exercise, practise, show (off) | apply, harness, use, utilize The manager must harness the skills of the workers to firm objectives.
broaden, hone, improve, increase, master, sharpen, upgrade helping children to master the skills necessary to live in our society She attends regular training weekends to sharpen her skills.
refresh, update | pool, share | assess, test a course that will test the skills of any golfer
SKILL + NOUN level | acquisition, development, training | shortage The country is facing a skills shortage.
PREP. with ~ She performed the task with great skill.
~ as her skills as a doctor
~ at his skill at painting
~ in their skill in selecting the best designs
~ of the basic skills of managing an office
~ with his skill with a sword
PHRASES a lack of skill, a mastery of skills a mastery of basic language skills

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

skill

have a skill
He 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 skill
We will give you the opportunity to develop your skills.
use a skill
I 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.
great/considerable skill (=a lot of skill)
He played with great skill.
good skills
He’s got good management skills.
basic skills
The basic skills can be acquired very quickly.
practical skills
Students will have the opportunity to learn a lot of practical skills.
technical skills
Good technical skills are not enough.
management skills
She needs to develop her management skills.
computer/IT skills
We’re looking for someone with good IT skills.
reading/writing skills
Their 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.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

skill [uncountable and countable] an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practised it:
He plays the piano with great skill.
communication/language/computer etc skills
The course will help you improve your communication skills.
talent [uncountable and countable] a natural ability to do something well which can be developed with practice:
She 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 have:
The 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 with:
You 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 creativity:
The 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 work:
The 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 thing:
Breadmaking is easy once you get the knack.
He has a knack for making people feel relaxed.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲