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

Etymology

Origin of accessible

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, Middle French, from Late Latin accessibilis; 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

And the bigger the museum gets, the more difficult it is to make it easily accessible.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

Less than 4% of all U.S. homes offer single-floor living, no-step entries, and wide hallways and doorways — the key features of accessible housing — according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

These results establish graphene as an accessible and cost-effective system for exploring ideas that are usually associated with extreme environments.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

A surprise-filled interrogation scene brings this absorbing and accessible book to its affecting conclusion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

But mountains did as much for a soul as the ocean, and they were more mystical and more alive, and more accessible, too.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

• available
• handy
• reachable
• usable