If you are proficient or adept at something you are skillful—perhaps even expert. Proficient, adept, skillful, and expert are all synonyms, but subtle differences can be discerned between these terms as …

She's proficient in two languages. It takes a couple of years of regular driving before you become proficient at it.

When someone has become good at something, they are proficient. After all those hours playing video games, you must be very proficient at them. Proficient comes from the Latin for making progress, so …

Having or marked by an advanced degree of competence, as in an art, vocation, profession, or branch of learning. n. A person who exhibits such competence; an expert. [Latin prōficiēns, prōficient-, …

Definition of proficient adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

2 meanings: 1. having great facility (in an art, occupation, etc); skilled 2. → an archaic word for an expert.... Click for more definitions.

PROFICIENT definition: well-advanced or competent in any art, science, or subject; skilled. See examples of proficient used in a sentence.

Proficient definition: Having or marked by an advanced degree of competence, as in an art, vocation, profession, or branch of learning.

Jan 20, 2026 · Adjective proficient (comparative more proficient, superlative most proficient) Good at something; skilled; fluent; practiced, especially in relation to a task or skill.

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the word proficient, three of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.