facility

American  

[fuh-sil-i-tee] / fəˈsɪl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

facilities

1. Often facilities

   1. something designed, built, installed, etc., to serve a specific function affording a convenience or service.

      transportation facilities;

      educational facilities;

      a new research facility.

   2. something that permits the easier performance of an action, course of conduct, etc..

      to provide someone with every facility for accomplishing a task;

      to lack facilities for handling bulk mail.

2. readiness or ease due to skill, aptitude, or practice; dexterity.

   to compose with great facility.

3. ready compliance.

   Her facility in organizing and directing made her an excellent supervisor.

4. an easy-flowing manner.

   facility of style.

5. the quality of being easily or conveniently done or performed.

6. Informal. Often facilities a restroom, especially one for use by the public, as in a theater or restaurant.

7. freedom from difficulty, controversy, misunderstanding, etc..

   facility of understanding.

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facility British  

/ fəˈsɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. ease of action or performance; freedom from difficulty

2. ready skill or ease deriving from practice or familiarity

3. (often plural) the means or equipment facilitating the performance of an action

4. rare easy-going disposition

5. military an organization or building offering supporting capability

6. (usually plural) a euphemistic word for lavatory

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Other Word Forms

• nonfacility noun
• overfacility noun

Etymology

Origin of facility

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English facilite, from Middle French or directly from Latin facilitās; facile, -ity

Explanation

Facility is a noun with several different meanings. Often, as in "storage facility," it's a place designed for a specific use, but it can also mean an effortlessness or ease with something. The new stadium is a great facility for showing off Olympic winter sports. At this level, all of the ice skaters show a facility that borders on magical. Likewise, the prison is a great facility for storing prisoners. Those prisoners showed a real facility for crime. Related to the French facile, which means "easy," a person who shows a facility for something makes it seem easy. This is cool, especially if that thing is difficult — or, as the French might say, difficile.

Example Sentences

The perceived loss of independence and control that accompanies moving into an assisted-living facility adds an additional layer of concern.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Allen Farnsworth, the general manager of SoCal Self Storage, operates one facility in Pasadena with a laundromat on-site and another in Hollywood that houses a Thai restaurant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

She had joined a small group of demonstrators, chanting and banging on metal dishes outside an immigration facility in Charlotte when ICE officers confronted the group.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026

The Adelanto facility, like the Louisiana lockup where Cabrera Clemente was held, is run by a private, for-profit prison company.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

In my mind it was still her fence, even though she didn’t live here anymore: she had been moved to a hospice facility near Main Street.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• accommodation
• amenity
• equipment
• material
• resource
• tool