use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

tech·ni·cal (tĕknĭ-kəl)
Share:
adj.
1. Of or relating to technique: a technical procedure; great technical skill in playing the violin.
2.
a. Having or demonstrating special skill or practical knowledge especially in a mechanical or scientific field: a technical adviser; technical expertise in digital photography.
b. Used in or peculiar to a specific field or profession; specialized: technical jargon.
c. Requiring advanced skills or specialized equipment: technical mountain climbing.
3. Of or relating to the practical, mechanical, or industrial arts or to the applied sciences: a technical institute.
4.
a. Of or relating to technology or technological studies: a technical breakthrough in the manufacture of solar panels; a technical journal.
b. Of or involving electronic or mechanical equipment: a broadcast interrupted by technical difficulties.
c. Of or relating to information technology: called technical support when the computers broke down.
5. Of, relating to, or employing the methodology of science; scientific: technical data; a technical analysis.
6.
a. In strict conformance to a law, regulation, or procedure: was held on a technical charge of vagrancy.
b. Strictly or narrowly defined: “It was a Federal victory only in the technical sense that the Army of the Potomac was left in possession of the field” (Edwin C. Fishel).
c. Based on analysis or principle; theoretical rather than practical: a technical advantage.
7. Relating to or based on market indicators, such as trading volume and fluctuations in securities prices, rather than underlying economic factors such as corporate earnings, inflation, and unemployment: a technical analysis of market conditions.
n.
1. Sports A technical foul.
2. A light vehicle such as a pickup truck that has been outfitted with a mounted machine gun or other weapon, especially for use by paramilitary units or irregulars.
[From Greek tekhnikos, of art, from tekhnē, art; see teks- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
techni·cal·ly adv.
techni·cal·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products