How to Use proficiency in a Sentence

proficiency

noun
  • Of course, the first thing a guide or host wants to know is his client's proficiency.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 10 June 2023
  • The term is not about tool proficiency.
    — Manu Khetan, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
  • The school still has a ways to go to get back to its former proficiency rates.
    — al, 10 Nov. 2021
  • The best way to gain proficiency with the wind is to spend time shooting in it.
    — John B. Snow, Outdoor Life, 15 Jan. 2026
  • There has been proficiency in the final third, too.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Nye made a point of showcasing the work and proficiency of each of his guests.
    — Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartzy, 27 June 2019
  • The hair and his proficiency in taking a charge sometimes works hand in hand.
    — Kyle Neddenriep, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2022
  • Wendy wielded a knife with the same scary proficiency as my mother.
    — Victor Wei Ke Yang, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
  • Christian Wood’s catch-and-shoot proficiency is a big part of that.
    — Shane Young, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2022
  • From there, stories of Nguyen’s firearms proficiency spread by word of mouth.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
  • Scarcely a third of high-school seniors read at or above the level of proficiency.
    — Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2020
  • Third graders who scored as approaching proficiency had three options to move on to fourth grade.
    — Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 21 Nov. 2024
  • And every one of these half-ton haulers packs a payload with utmost proficiency.
    — Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 25 Feb. 2023
  • His all-round game is now beginning to match his proficiency in front of goal, which has brought four goals in his last three games.
    — Steve Madeley, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
  • But schools that stayed on the list, across the state, also saw improvements in proficiency rates.
    — al, 5 Nov. 2019
  • In math, 34% of fourth graders and 26% of eighth graders achieved proficiency.
    — Arlyssa D. Becenti, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025
  • One is by measuring growth on test scores rather than total proficiency.
    — Amelia Pak-Harvey, IndyStar, 11 Nov. 2025
  • The drops in their test scores were often more pronounced, and their climbs to proficiency are now that much more daunting.
    — Ashley Wu, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2022
  • The site says 92% of users improved their language proficiency in just two months.
    — Tim Chan, Variety, 6 Aug. 2024
  • The students who still don’t show proficiency in the retest will sit for another test a week after that.
    — Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 28 May 2024
  • But proficiency is not the same as grade level, which is a higher bar, Mackey said.
    — Tcrain, al, 1 Aug. 2023
  • If sales cycles are too long and time-to-proficiency for new starters is dragging, those numbers belong in your deck.
    — David James, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Their main goal is to work with students to reach a high level of proficiency in English in a short amount of time.
    — Sophia Caraballo, Woman's Day, 14 Aug. 2019
  • First-year voucher students earned a 40% proficiency rate across the state.
    — Max Londberg, The Enquirer, 20 Aug. 2020
  • Collins said Singh lacks basic English proficiency and did not know the road signs.
    — Kate Payne, Sun Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Fair enough, but what are the specific proficiency goals for math and English?
    — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2025
  • Anyone who wants to own a gun for self-defense must be over 21 and pass proficiency tests and background checks.
    — ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Low class size, particularly in the lower grades, is one of the best ways to raise proficiency.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 14 Mar. 2021
  • Third- and fourth-grade reading proficiency is up 11%.
    — Gov. Kim Reynolds, Des Moines Register, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Tenth-grade science proficiency is up 7%.
    — Gov. Kim Reynolds, Des Moines Register, 13 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'proficiency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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