facility

American  

[fuh-sil-i-tee] / fəˈsɪl ɪ ti /

noun

• facilities
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• nonfacility
  noun
• overfacility
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• facilities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of facility

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

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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

See Examples For:

facility facilities

Bel had visited the ICE facility in Cincinnati multiple times, hoping to get it off, but had no luck.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

McCormick, who has co-sponsored the bipartisan “Ships for America Act,” recently visited the main shipyard of South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean—a site bigger and more technologically advanced than any facility in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Ukraine's defence ministry earlier said it struck a facility in the Russian city of Oryol run by a sanctioned heavy machinery manufacturer.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

In the lead-up to Nov. 3, the agency’s plan is to route ballots meant for local election offices to a nearby postal facility or directly to their destination.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

The owner gave him a paper telling the Captain to give him every facility in doing whatever he chose on board the ship, and also a similar authorisation to his agent at Varna.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Beyond the apartment itself, Hyde Midtown offers a lengthy roster of recreational facilities.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Any investments, though, could take years to bear fruit given the complexities of refining facilities and the logistics of supplying them with crude.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

McCormick, who has proposed several shipbuilding bills with Democrats, has pushed for refurbishing existing U.S. shipyards and building brand-new facilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

So-called hyperscale facilities - massive sites owned and run by tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft - have a bigger positive effect on jobs, it found.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

We finally decided that a dozen leos should be more than enough, and besides, the ranch had laundry facilities.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

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Related Words

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

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