forte

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“
Because his forte is his burst off the line, the 49ers would want to keep him fresh.

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Definitions (19)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun Something in which a person excels.
  2. noun The strong part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt.
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: forte1, métier, specialty, thing
    These nouns denote something at which a person is particularly skilled: Writing fiction is her forte. The theater is his métier. The professor's specialty was the study of ancient languages. Mountain climbing is really my thing.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

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Examples (50)

  • It is precisely a piano-forte, about ten feet long, eighteen inches broad, and nine inches deep. —  The Writings of Thomas Jefferson Library Edition - Vol. 6 (of 20)
  • It is commended, if worth any thing, to the musical proficient: for I might as well think of adding a note to the gamut as of trying to compose an oratorio The authorial mind is infinitely versatile: books and book-making are indeed its special privilege, forte, and distinguishing peculiarity; but still its thoughts and regards are ever cast towards originality of idea, though unwritten and unprinted, in all the multitudinous departments of science and of art. —  An Author's Mind : The Book of Title-pages
  • Answer: It's a place that can't hold the forte--dam good joke--keno--go up to the head, Jones Well,' says I, after some other things, 'who's going to pay for all this God knows!' —  Red Saunders' Pets and Other Critters
  • He decided, among other things, that his forte was rather writing about motors than riding about in motors Mr. Wodehouse's second novel will be an even greater success than "The Intrusion of Jimmy." —  The Lighted Match
  • But like comedians who think their forte is tragedy, so the part of courtier was more pleasing to Rubens than that of painter, because it was more difficult. —  Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 04 Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Painters
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. French fort, from Old French, strong, from Latin fortis; see fort.
  2. Italian, strong, forte, from Latin fortis; see bhergh-2 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. (French fort, strong part, hold, strength, skill, forte, from fort, adjective, strong: see fort.
  2. Italian, strong, loud, from Latin fortis, strong: see fortification
 

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/ˈfoʊrtɛ/
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