capability
Americannoun
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capabilities
plural
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the quality of being capable; capacity; ability.
His capability was unquestionable.
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the ability to undergo or be affected by a given treatment or action.
the capability of glass in resisting heat.
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Usually capabilities. qualities, abilities, features, etc., that can be used or developed; potential.
Though dilapidated, the house has great capabilities.
noun
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the quality of being capable; ability
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the quality of being susceptible to the use or treatment indicated
the capability of a metal to be fused
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(usually plural) a characteristic that may be developed; potential aptitude
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of capability
First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French capabilité, from Late Latin capābili(s) capable + -ty 2
Compare meaning
How does capability compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A capability is something a person or a thing is able to do. It's hard to find a cell phone that doesn't include other capabilities, like taking pictures or storing MP3s. Inside the word capability is the word ability. Note the fine distinction between them. If you have an ability, it means you know how to do something. If you have a capability, it means you have the power to do something. Buying uranium gives a country the capability of making nuclear weapons, but first they need scientists with the ability to do the work.
Vocabulary lists containing capability
"The Declaration of Sentiments" (1848)
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Vocabulary from texts about Colin Powell
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President Obama's Speech at Hiroshima
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Tau doesn’t specifically advertise folding clothes as a capability on its website right now.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The country is a pivotal exporter to the global AI supply chain due to its strong manufacturing capability and cost competitiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
This capability could be valuable in systems that need to communicate across different radio frequencies or direct signals toward specific locations.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026
"The ability to change a DNA sequence of our choosing into a new sequence of our choosing is a fundamentally very powerful capability," Liu told AFP in an interview in 2025.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Although it would be fairly expensive, such a mission is probably within our technological capability.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
“They’re supposed to be attention-getters. They’re supposed to reflect the advanced capabilities of the company.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
At the EU level, Kallas said the European Defence Agency had mapped all the "critical capabilities" that Europe was missing and that Europe needed to fill these gaps "as soon as possible".
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
They also studied historical records, technical reports, correspondence, and other archival documents to reconstruct the reactor's capabilities and determine what would have been required for it to work.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The senators also say they are "deeply concerned" by reports of disruptions or "glitches" affecting intelligence-sharing and threat-warning capabilities relied upon by personnel operating in Ukraine.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
But these countries are steadily developing their research and development capabilities to handle more and more of these phases.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
