availability

Rarely a·vail·a·ble·ness

[uh-vey-luh-bil-i-tee]

noun

1. the fact or quality of being close at hand and ready for use.

   Children learn about the importance of reading and writing through the availability of a wide variety of books.

2. the fact or quality of being readily obtainable.

   Prices are subject to availability of the product at the time of ordering.

3. freedom or willingness to do something.

   League members selected as reserve players shall confirm their availability by signing the list on the notice board.

4. the fact or condition of not being involved in a romantic or sexual relationship and therefore being potentially open to one.

   Overall, he says, a man is more attracted to a woman by the signs of her availability than by her physical appearance.

Other Word Forms

• interavailability noun
• nonavailability noun
• unavailability noun
• unavailableness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of availability¹

avail(able) ( def. ) + -ability ( def. )

Example Sentences

The researchers exposed the microbial communities to either ample water or very limited water for five months to reinforce contrasting histories of moisture availability.

Read more on Science Daily

Williamson relinquished the captaincy in both white ball formats when signing a "casual" contract with NZ Cricket, allowing him to pick and choose his availability.

Read more on Barron's

You’ll know the music genre, venue style, seating configuration, and the availability of alcohol and food.

Read more on Salon

If AWS can avoid getting hampered by constraints like electricity and chip availability—a big unknown, to be sure—AWS should have plenty of computing power to grow with in the coming months.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"We recognise that our soils are depleting and that we need to change to secure the future," said Sarah-Jane Taylor, underlining the question of "water availability... and that's only going to get worse".

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• opportunity 
• show 
• time