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.
Burnham will be able to pick up these proposals, although they might come with an up-front cost attached if they involve greater investment in training opportunities or guaranteed work placements.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Unfortunately, the more you hold of your biggest winners, the less likely you are to be able to benefit fully from the tax advantages of a 351 exchange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
“My hope is that people will be able to look back … and say, ‘Hey, “Heartstopper” did really well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
He said, ‘I wasn’t able to get up. I’m in a wheelchair,’” Hernandez said.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
I say this knowing it’s likely a promise I won’t be able to keep, but I need to get her off my back.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Do not confuse -EBL- with -EM- or -IND- in words which in English end in -able or -ible, but have two distinct meanings.
From The International Auxiliary Language Esperanto Grammar and Commentary by Cox, George
Think or thinkable might be isolated, but as neither un- nor -able nor is-un yields a measurable satisfaction, we are compelled to leave unthinkable as an integral whole, a miniature bit of art.
From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Sapir, Edward
In English we have naturalized -able as a suffix and added it to almost any verb, as 'laughable', 'indescribable', 'desirable'.
From Society for Pure English Tract 4 The Pronunciation of English Words Derived from the Latin by Sargeaunt, John
Some of these foreign elements, like the -ize of materialize or the -able of breakable, are even productive to-day.
From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Sapir, Edward
What should be done with the terminations -able, -ible, -tion, -cial, -tive, -ive, and -sion?
From Division of Words Rules for the Division of Words at the Ends of Lines, with Remarks on Spelling, Syllabication and Pronunciation by Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William)
Jimmy Carter was one of the abler residents, in his mid-seventies—too able for tracing letters.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 1, 2018
This leaves the real study of real economics, in the real world, wide open for abler minds.
From Forbes ● Apr. 17, 2015
Playboy Crown Prince Umberto, though abler than his parents, would probably have to join Europe's swelling ranks of unemployed royalty.
From Time Magazine Archive
Physicist Berkner estimates that 75,000 high school students a year are abler than the median winners of last year's doctorates.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Getting Lemoncello to cancel these so-called Olympic Games? Couldn’t have done it in an abler manner myself.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
Cox proved to be Young’s ablest intelligence gatherer, even if the occasional bribes she endorsed put her agents at needless risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s chief Supreme Court lawyer, is widely considered one of the ablest high-court advocates.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, he described Ms Sturgeon as being "one of the ablest communicators in politics".
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2023
In September 1948, a State Department report portrayed Ho as "the strongest and perhaps the ablest figure in Indochina," and said that "any suggested solution which excludes him is an expedient of uncertain outcome."
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2022
Fabulous for little Jack and Jill Mediocrity, but do they push the brightest and ablest?
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
