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

Example Sentences

You’re reading this article on a digital tool built on the foundation of making a complex technology accessible for billions of people.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026

At Tyumen University in Siberia, some 2,000 students signed a petition against a move to make the school’s Wi-Fi accessible only through Max.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

They are among hundreds of thousands of ship plans and documents made widely accessible.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

For Lakkis, Lebanon doesn't have enough accessible shelters: the few schools able to receive people with disabilities fill up quickly.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Maria's beautiful, accessible art and text electrified her fellow naturalists.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Related Words

• available
• handy
• reachable
• usable