durability
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of durability
First recorded in 1350–1400; Latin dūrābili(s) + -tās noun suffix; see durable ( def. ), -ty 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Durability is when something lasts a long time. The durability of your favorite pair of hiking boots keeps them from wearing out even when you've walked many miles in them. Use the noun durability to describe the quality of permanence or strength that keeps something working or holds it together. Your parents' thirty year marriage has durability, and your sturdy old car that keeps on running mile after mile also has durability. The Latin root word, durabilis, means "lasting or permanent," and comes from durare, "to last or harden."
Vocabulary lists containing durability
This Week in Words: January 27 - February 2, 2018
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"Ad Power," "Without Commercials," and "What's Wrong with Advertising"
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"The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller, List 5
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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.
“And the durability of this truce depends less on the warmth of the words exchanged by the two leaders than on the credibility of the deterrents they can wield against each other.”
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Other recent work has explored stainless steel based electrodes with protective catalytic layers, including NiFe based coatings and Pt atomic clusters, to improve durability in natural seawater.
From Science Daily • May 10, 2026
For a field where cost and durability often decide whether a technology can leave the lab, a steel that builds its own second shield may be more than a materials science surprise.
From Science Daily • May 10, 2026
Benchmark analyst Cody Acree says that much of the market’s concern is tied to demand durability.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
By rejecting zero, the Greek philosophers gave their view of the universe the durability to survive for two millennia.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
