portable
Americanadjective
-
capable of being transported or conveyed.
a portable stage.
-
easily carried or conveyed by hand.
I found a lightweight, portable propane stove for our trekking holiday.
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Computers. (of data sets, software, etc.) capable of being used on different computer systems.
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Obsolete. endurable.
noun
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portables
plural
adjective
-
able to be carried or moved easily, esp by hand
-
(of software, files, etc) able to be transferred from one type of computer system to another
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archaic able to be endured; bearable
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of portable
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin portābilis; see port 5, -able
Explanation
If something's portable, you can easily take it with you . You may carry your portable computer with you from class to class because it's small, light, and fits easily in your backpack. First appearing around 1400, portable stems from the Latin word portare, meaning "to carry." Used as an adjective, portable describes something you can carry around easily. Used as a noun, it means a smaller, easy-to-carry version of something, like a computer or television. On a trip, you might take your portable so you can watch movies in the car. Before computers became popular, you might have carried around a lightweight typewriter called a portable.
Vocabulary lists containing portable
Vocabulary from history writings about the Triangle Factory Fire
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Latin Love, Vol I: portare
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Slam!
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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.
See Examples For:
The prices for portable MacBooks went up too, and the company has been struggling to keep higher-memory variations of the MacBook Air in stock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Harp has been dubbed the "human printer" -- thanks to her role carrying a portable machine to print out documents that Trump asks for.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Fortunately, a second portable toilet area deeper inside the venue had working sinks and held up well throughout the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The account is also portable, meaning if you change employers, you can take it with you.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
“This is from your father, too. He got you the luggage and I got you the portable typewriter.”
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
Built into a refurbished shipping container, it’s filled with everything from tiny Walkman-style portables to colorful, number-flip clock radios and, naturally, boomboxes of all sizes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Some Fairmount classrooms and portables are located about 50 feet away from the yard, separated from the heavy work by a driveway and a chain-link fence.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
Analogue’s first foray into portables — the company makes some great retro consoles — solves a very important problem, namely letting people play original Game Boy cartridges on a beautiful, modern screen.
From The Verge ● Jul. 15, 2021
“School! Cahokia funded some portables in the old schoolyard. It’s only two days a week so far, the rest is online.”
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2020
Think about it: There are 25 portables that are completely trashed, completely out of commission.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
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.
