accessible

American  

[ak-ses-uh-buhl, ik-] / ækˈsɛs ə bəl, ɪk- /

adjective

1. easy to approach, reach, enter, speak with, or use.

2. able to be used, entered, reached, etc..

   an accessible road; accessible Mayan ruins.

3. suitable for disabled people to reach, enter, or use, as a result of design modifications: modified controllers to make video games accessible.

   wheelchair-accessible vans;

   modified controllers to make video games accessible.

4. readily understandable.

   Students may believe that poetry is not accessible because of its metaphorical language.

5. obtainable; attainable.

   accessible evidence.

6. open to the influence of (usually followed byto ).

   accessible to bribery.

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accessible British  

/ əkˈsɛsəbəl /

adjective

1. easy to approach, enter, use, or understand

2. likely to be affected by; open to; susceptible to

3. obtainable; available

4. easy for disabled people to enter or use

5. logic (of a possible world) surveyable from some other world so that the truth value of statements about it can be known. A statement possibly p is true in a world W if and only if p is true in some worlds accessible to W

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Other Word Forms

• accessibility
  noun
• nonaccessible
  adjective
• preaccessible
  adjective
• unaccessible
  adjective
• accessibly
  adverb
• unaccessibly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of accessible

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, Middle French, from Late Latin accessibilis; see origin at access, -ible

Explanation

Accessible can mean easy to get to. If the mall is easily accessible, you might be tempted to spend a lot of money on your lunch breaks. The "within reach" definition of the adjective accessible does not just refer to physical distance. A person can be accessible if they are approachable and friendly. A celebrity that is accessible probably signs a lot of autographs and grants interviews. The word can also describe something that is easily understood. You might need to read a plot summary of a long convoluted novel — to make it more accessible or easy to follow.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accessible

By eliminating many of the costs associated with museum visits and extensive fieldwork, citizen science platforms are making large scale biological research more accessible, particularly for scientists working in the Global South.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

By the will of the people, the coast was enshrined in state law as a precious public asset accessible to the many, not a private playground fenced off for the few.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

When they were about 5 years old, Bryne put up an indoor facility in the middle of town that was always unlocked and easily accessible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

While making youth soccer in particular more accessible is a complex issue that may require overhauling the entire system, one expert believes that a good starting point is to just let kids be kids.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

It should be stressed that these works wouldn’t have been easy to read even for an experienced adult player: They aren’t accessible unless a person has the drive to excel in the abstraction of chess.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• available
• handy
• reachable
• usable