having necessary power, skill, resources, or qualifications; qualified.
able to lift a two-hundred-pound weight; able to write music; able to travel widely; able to vote.
having unusual or superior intelligence, skill, etc..
an able leader.
showing talent, skill, or knowledge.
an able speech.
legally empowered, qualified, or authorized.
(postpositive) having the necessary power, resources, skill, time, opportunity, etc, to do something
able to swim
capable; competent; talented
an able teacher
law qualified, competent, or authorized to do some specific act
capable of, suitable for, or deserving of (being acted upon as indicated)
enjoyable
pitiable
readable
separable
washable
inclined to; given to; able to; causing
comfortable
reasonable
variable
Able, capable, competent all mean possessing adequate power for doing something. Able implies power equal to effort required: able to finish in time. Capable implies power to meet or fulfill ordinary requirements: a capable worker. Competent suggests power to meet demands in a completely satisfactory manner: a competent nurse.
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin habilis “handy,” equivalent to hab(ēre) “to have, hold” + -ilis adjective suffix; see -ile
Middle English < Old French < Latin -ābilis, equivalent to -ā- final vowel of 1st conjugation v. stems + -bilis
If you're able to juggle, you'll go far in life. To be able is to have the skill, knowledge, or permission to do something. Able is an adjective that describes the ability to do a particular thing, like your friend who's able to ride a motorcycle and your dog that's able to roll over on command. It can also mean very skilled or capable, as when you describe your sister as an able tap dancer. Able comes from the Latin word habilis, "easily handled or apt." The h is silent in Latin, which led to it being dropped from the English able.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Able to communicate in over 50 languages, prototypes of the Paris-based firm's machine are already out in the wild welcoming people to hospitals and airports, marketing chief Richard Malterre said on a Vivatech stage.
From Barron's • Jun. 19, 2026
Able to speak when she was younger, she has primarily used eye-gaze technology to communicate since 2017.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Able to pass for decades younger, he now basks in life on the other side of infamy.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
Able Americans is one of the only conservative think tank projects dedicated entirely to disability policy.
From Salon • Oct. 20, 2025
To America, Able Archer 83 was a mock exercise—neither the first nor the last that it would conduct during the Cold War.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
