Skill Meaning
/skɪl/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
nounA reusable configuration (prompt) that defines how an AI agent performs a specific task.
Sentence Examples
She has improved her skill in cooking recently.
We cannot but wonder at his skill in skiing.
The job requires skill and an eye for detail.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After years of practice, she had developed great ____ in playing the violin.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Learning a new ____ requires a lot of practice, dedication, and patience over time.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English skill, skille (also schil, schile), from Old Norse skil (“a distinction, discernment, knowledge”), from Proto-Germanic *skilją (“separation, limit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to split, cut”). Cognate with Danish skel (“a separation, boundary, divide”), Swedish skäl (“reason”), Dutch verschil (“difference”) and schillen (“to separate the outer layer (schil) from the product”, verb).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I have heard the French-man hath good skill in his rapier."
— c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 45:
"Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill."
— 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
"The skill was not in creating a grid full of words, but in producing clues cryptic enough to baffle the puzzler, yet constructed so honestly that they could be solved by any intelligent person who knew the conventions."
— 2013 November 26, Simon Hoggart, “Araucaria's last puzzle: crossword master dies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 26, page 43:
"Him so I sought, and so at last I fownd
Where him that witch had thralled to her will,
In chaines of lust and lewde desyres ybownd
And so transformed from his former skill,
That me he knew not, nether his owne ill;"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, , stanzas 1-5, page 54:
"Methinks I should know you, and know this man;
Yet I am doubtful; for I am mainly ignorant
What place this is; and all the skill I have
Remembers not these garments; nor I know not
Where I did lodge last night. […]"
— c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii]:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After years of practice, she had developed great ____ in playing the violin.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Learning a new ____ requires a lot of practice, dedication, and patience over time.