Examples of what you can do. (defmethod some-fn ((num real)) (print "an integer")) (defmethod some-fn ((num real)) (print "a real")) (defmethod some-fn ((num (eql 0))) (print "zero")) (some-fn 19323923198319) "an integer" (some-fn 19323923198319.3) "a real" (some-fn 0) "zero" It also works with a general 'string type. (defmethod some-fn ((num string)) (print "a string")) (some-fn "asrt") "a string" Not with a specific string, however (defmethod some-fn ((num (eql "A")) (print "a specifict string"))) => doesn't compile I imagine it doesn't work because eql does not work on strings in the way that would be necessary for it to work. (eql "a" "a") => nil Is there a way to do it?