caliber

American  

[kal-uh-ber] / ˈkæl ə bər /

especially British, calibre

noun

calibers plural

1. the diameter of something of circular section, especially that of the inside of a tube.

   a pipe of three-inch caliber.

2. Ordnance. the diameter of the bore of a gun taken as a unit of measurement.

3. degree of capacity or competence; ability.

   a mathematician of high caliber.

4. degree of merit or excellence; quality.

   the high moral caliber of the era.

   Synonyms:

   distinction, worth

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• calibered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• calibers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of caliber

1560–70; variant of calibre < Middle French ≪ Arabic qālib mold, last < Greek kālápous shoe last, equivalent to kāla- combining form of kâlon wood + poús foot ( see -pod)

Explanation

Caliber is a kind of measurement that can describe either the level of a person’s ability or the diameter of a gun barrel. Your dad might be a high-caliber marksman, especially when using his .22 caliber rifle. Caliber describes the level of ability a person has achieved in a profession. For example, you probably wouldn't want to hire a low-caliber plumber when the toilet breaks. The caliber of an institution or a program describes the height of its standards. You might be planning to attend the high-caliber veterinary program at your state university. Caliber is also the measurement of the width inside a gun barrel, and its corresponding bullets.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caliber calibers

Her inevitable set closer “Man I Need” is the caliber of a track that will outlive her and all of us, a song that will always belong to the lovers yet to come.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

“Properties of this caliber, with such a rich legacy and expansive acreage, seldom become available.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

After reading it, a former OpenAI researcher did some back-of-the-envelope math and estimated it took less than 32 hours and $1,000 in tokens, a bargain for a result of this caliber.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

Performers of Prince and Lamar’s caliber enjoy the spoils of their popularity.

From Salon ● May 16, 2026

He’d likely never again have boys of the caliber he had returning in the fall, he told his wife.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

When deputies arrived on the scene of the darkened rural area among a vineyard, a nursery and a farm, they said they could hear various calibers of weapons being fired.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2024

There are thousands of "elite" teams like that city's Scorpion unit and they come in all calibers, shapes, and sizes.

From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2023

Was it pressing, or are the calibers of the tiers an issue more pressing?

From Washington Post ● Dec. 31, 2020

Police seized multiple items from his apartment including: a Remington rifle with a magazine, cartridges for different calibers of guns, two rifle scopes and gun cleaning equipment.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2018

During the day they bombarded with numerous batteries of all calibers the Italian positions along the whole front from the Adige to the Brenta, especially in the Monte Novegno zone.

From The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8) Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War by Churchill, Allen L. (Allen Leon)

Related Words

• ability
• competence
• quality
• stature
• talent