renewable
Americanadjective
noun
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Relating to a natural resource, such as solar energy, water, or wood, that is never used up or that can be replaced by new growth. Resources that are dependent on regrowth can sometimes be depleted beyond the point of renewability, as when the deforestation of land leads to desertification or when a commercially valuable species is harvested to extinction. Pollution can also make a renewable resource such as water unusable in a particular location.
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Compare nonrenewable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of renewable
Explanation
Anything renewable can be replaced or has an endless supply. Renewable sources of energy don't run out. Since re means "again," things that are renewable are always fresh and new: the supply can't be used up. This word often applies to energy. Fossil fuels like oil are not renewable resources; we will run out of oil someday. Energy sources like solar and wind power are renewable, because there's always going to be sunlight and wind. Anything renewable is going to last.
Vocabulary lists containing renewable
Power Suffix: -able
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Power Prefix: re-
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Natural Resources and the Environment - Introductory
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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.
But some experts say keeping Diablo online is actually slowing the growth of renewable energy in California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
It will also cover conventional and renewable power generation and energy storage, in addition to core infrastructure such as transportation, natural gas, water systems and critical minerals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
UK ministers say replacing and upgrading decades-old infrastructure is vital for distributing renewable power and improving energy security.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
It could also lower the amount of electricity required for renewable energy-powered water electrolysis used to produce green hydrogen.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
One of the most encouraging developments has come out of Australia, where renewable energy now generates enough power to run 70 percent of Australian homes.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
