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noun ad·ept \ˈa-ˌdept, ə-ˈdept, a-ˈ\

Simple Definition of adept

  • : a highly skilled or well-trained person : someone who is adept at something

Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary

Full Definition of adept

  1. :  a highly skilled or well-trained individual :  expert <an adept at chess>

Examples of adept in a sentence

  1. Once safely back in Paris, and having attained his majority, the poet squandered his inheritance with an adept's fervor … —Nicholas Delbanco, Harper's, September 2004

  2. They recruited computational chemists, software engineers, AI experts, and various other computer adepts, all of whom put their monster minds together to create an automated reasoning system that could inspect vast amounts of chemical data quickly and point the finger at potential new drug compounds. —Ed Regis, Wired, June 2000

  3. <even by the standards of Washington, he's an adept at political intrigue and power politics>

Origin and Etymology of adept

New Latin adeptus alchemist who has attained the knowledge of how to change base metals into gold, from Latin, past participle of adipisci to attain, from ad- + apisci to reach — more at apt

First Known Use: 1709



adjective ad·ept \ə-ˈdept also ˈa-ˌdept\

Simple Definition of adept

  • : very good at doing something that is not easy

Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary

Full Definition of adept

  1. :  thoroughly proficient :  expert <adept at fixing cars>


play \ə-ˈdep-(t)lē, a-\ adverb


play \-ˈdep(t)-nəs\ noun

Examples of adept in a sentence

  1. Madison, Jefferson's lifelong friend, collaborator, and political ally, was quizzical and skeptical. His mind was less capacious and less elevated than Jefferson's, but more … original, and instinctively contrary. Less learned than Jefferson, his verbal skills inferior, he was almost pedantically alert to inner complications, and so, though less adept a politician, he was more consistent. —Bernard Bailyn, To Begin the World Anew, 2003

  2. Three small figurines carved of ivory from mammoth tusks have been found in a cave in southwestern Germany, providing stronger evidence that human ancestors were already adept at figurative art more than 30,000 years ago, an archaeologist is reporting today. —John Noble Wilford, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2003

  3. The Angels exploited center-fielder Bernie Williams's weak throwing arm in the division series against the Yankees and are adept at scampering from first to third on hits to the outfield. —Jack Curry, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2002

  4. Barnum was especially adept at pulling back one curtain after another, keeping the audience in a state of panting uncertainty, perpetually postponing the revelation of what was “really” going on. —Jackson Lears, New Republic, 12 Nov. 2001

  5. He's adept in several languages.

  6. <he's an adept pitcher, and the team is lucky to have him>

Origin and Etymology of adept

(see 1adept)

First Known Use: circa 1691

Synonym Discussion of adept


ADEPT Defined for Kids


adjective ad·ept \ə-ˈdept\

Definition of adept for Students

  1. :  very good at something <adept at swimming>





History for adept

Several centuries ago, at the beginnings of modern science, some people claimed to have found the trick of turning common metals to gold. The Latin word adeptus, meaning “someone who has attained something,” was even used to describe a person who could perform this feat. The English word adept, which means “skilled at something,” came from this Latin word. Certainly, a person who could make gold in this way would have to be highly skilled.

Word Root of adept


Seen and Heard

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to criticize in a loud and angry way

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