competent
Americanadjective
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having suitable or sufficient skill, knowledge, experience, etc., for some purpose; properly qualified.
He is perfectly competent to manage the bank branch.
- Synonyms:
- proficient, capable, fit
-
adequate but not exceptional.
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Law. (of a witness, a party to a contract, etc.) having legal competence, as by meeting certain minimum requirements of age, soundness of mind, or the like.
-
Geology. (of a bed or stratum) able to undergo folding without flowage or change in thickness.
adjective
-
having sufficient skill, knowledge, etc; capable
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suitable or sufficient for the purpose
a competent answer
-
law (of a witness) having legal capacity; qualified to testify, etc
-
belonging as a right; appropriate
Related Words
See able.
Other Word Forms
- competently adverb
- competentness noun
- noncompetent adjective
- ultracompetent adjective
- uncompetent adjective
Etymology
Origin of competent
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin competent- (stem of competēns, present participle of competere “to meet, agree”); compete, -ent
Explanation
If you are competent, you have the necessary ability or skills to do something. If you can carry a heavy tray of food and store a table's worth of orders in your head, you are probably a competent waiter. The opposite of competent is incompetent — an incompetent travel agent might send you to Bahrain when you requested Britain. But competent on its own can sometimes be a veiled criticism, with the implication that someone competent is just going to through the motions — you'd rather have someone inspired on the job. In legal language, competent describes someone who has the mental capacity to take part in a trial or sign a contract.
Vocabulary lists containing competent
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 26–31
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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.
Yes, but even the most competent 5-year-old would still run into the same problems that Bondi did.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026
Dr Tracy O'Connor Pennuto and Dr Cassondra Morris, from the Federal Medical Center in Butner, testified that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over four months in prison.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
Ghalibaf is considered ruthless and ambitious but also a competent manager.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
The foreign ministry statement added that ships linked to qualifying countries could "benefit from safe passage" but "in coordination with the competent Iranian authorities".
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
I know that Dell's not a very competent person.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
