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Synonyms

usable

American  
[yoo-zuh-buhl] / ˈyu zə bəl /
Or useable

adjective

  1. available or convenient for use.

    2000 square feet of usable office space.

  2. capable of being used.

    That saw is no longer usable.
usable British  
/ ˈjuːzəbəl /

adjective

  1. able to be used

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of usable

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French; see use, -able

Explanation

Something that's usable can be successfully used right away for its intended purpose. If your car is usable, it's running just fine. A usable tent has all of its poles and is more or less waterproof, and a usable pair of shoes fits well and doesn't have holes. Describing something as usable can sometimes be faint praise: "Well, this basketball is usable, but just barely." When information is described as usable, it usually means it's actively available, and not just stored in a computer, for example. This is a relatively new adjective, first appearing around 1840.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing usable

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -able, -ible

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What you’re left with is a kitchen that feels reset — not perfect, but usable.

From Salon • May 5, 2026

It is warehousing usable items, from file cabinets to the operating table in the surgical theater, and will distribute them to nonprofits primarily in Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Additionally, Intel has reportedly improved its chip yield, or the amount of usable chips it can get from one wafer, and that “is a critical metric for any foundry,” he added.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

To produce a single usable scene, Shao’s team has to repeatedly prompt the AI model, burning through time and computing resources.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Beowulf had gnawed a perfectly usable letter opener out of a piece of wood.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.