competency
Americannoun
plural
competenciesnoun
-
law capacity to testify in a court of law; eligibility to be sworn
-
a less common word for competence competence
Other Word Forms
- noncompetency noun
Etymology
Origin of competency
First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French, from Medieval Latin competentia “expertise, suitability,” in Latin: “agreement, proportion, symmetry,” equivalent to competent + -cy
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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.
They told me her personal physician had never declared her incompetent and was actually reinstating her competency.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
Threading the needle between investors’ need for information and a company’s ability to focus on its core competency isn’t easy—but in some ways the SEC’s proposal fails at both.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
Last August, the Australian government banned remote or at-home tests to assess the language competency of migrants.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026
Employees get an AI competency score from one to five—scoring a five if they create systems that improve the workflow of others.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
The core competency there is speed and accuracy,” explained Glocer.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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.
