competence
Americannoun
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competences
plural
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the quality of being competent; adequacy; possession of required skill, knowledge, qualification, or capacity.
He hired her because of her competence as an accountant.
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an income sufficient to furnish the necessities and modest comforts of life.
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sufficiency; a sufficient quantity.
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Law. (of a witness, a party to a contract, etc.) legal capacity or qualification based on the meeting of certain minimum requirements of age, soundness of mind, citizenship, or the like.
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Embryology. the sum total of possible developmental responses of any group of blastemic cells under varied external conditions.
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Linguistics. the implicit, internalized knowledge of a language that a speaker possesses and that enables the speaker to produce and understand the language.
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Immunology. immunocompetence.
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Geology. the ability of a fluid medium, as a stream or the wind, to move and carry particulate matter, measured by the size or weight of the largest particle that can be transported.
noun
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the condition of being capable; ability
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a sufficient income to live on
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the state of being legally competent or qualified
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embryol the ability of embryonic tissues to react to external conditions in a way that influences subsequent development
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linguistics (in transformational grammar) the form of the human language faculty, independent of its psychological embodiment in actual human beings Compare performance langue parole
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The ability of bacteria to be undergo genetic transformation.
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The ability to respond immunologically to an antigen, as in an immune cell responding to a virus.
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The ability to function normally because of structural integrity, as in a heart valve.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of competence
First recorded in 1585–95; compet(ent) + -ence
Explanation
If you have competence, you're qualified or well prepared to do something. A driving test will show if you have competence behind the wheel. If your dad discovers a new dent in his car each time you've borrowed it, don't be surprised if he questions your competence as a driver. The words competence and competency are sometimes used interchangeably, although competence is better when describing the quality of being well qualified. Competency is more appropriate in a legal sense, referring to the ability of a person to make decisions or stand trial.
Vocabulary lists containing competence
Astronauts
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"Ad Power," "Without Commercials," and "What's Wrong with Advertising"
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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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:
After his four-decade rule, the quality of emperors veered between competence and louche megalomania.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Someone who has accumulated $2 million or more in retirement savings has demonstrated financial discipline and competence.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Among the advantages, he cited "strong competence of the German industry, debt funding capability from the German state and joint experience within the community" on previous fighter jet projects.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
There are performances of warmth, competence, abundance and ease.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
You were your own judge of competence, and as soon as you felt you were ready to go, off you jolly well went.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
Concerns include monitoring the competences of therapists and doctors working for digital apps, and worries about "very aggressive marketing" from some of the private companies behind them.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2021
Instead of "left" versus "right," think of two different core competences.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2020
“It’s the degree of specialization, the number of factories you’d need and the number of competences to make all the different parts,” Fowler said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2018
He’ll also discuss potential changes to EU competences and ways to improve communication between elites and the public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2016
As for the men who were the early captains of railway industry, they none of them secured more than modest competences.
From Social Transformations of the Victorian Age A Survey of Court and Country by T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet) Escott
Definitions 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.
