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

“Boyle Heights and Skid Row have waited far too long for safer, more accessible streets, and the residents who organized for these improvements deserve more than a setback and a closed door.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

Since then, the companies have broadened their collaboration, including initiatives aimed at making Meta's open-source AI models more accessible to Indian businesses and developers.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

Midjourney is making a foray into healthcare with its latest body-scanner product, aiming to make medical imaging more accessible.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

If states are trying to comply with the law’s changes to SNAP, they’re likely not focusing on making the program accessible, Bergh said.

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2026

Janny Scott, a reporter with an unusual gift for rendering complicated subjects accessible, dug into new thinking about the impact of class on health, immigration, residential segregation, and child rearing.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• available
• handy
• reachable
• usable