facility

American  

[fuh-sil-i-tee] / fəˈsɪl ɪ ti /

noun

• facilities
  plural

1. Often facilities

   1. something designed, built, installed, etc., to serve a specific function affording a convenience or service.

      transportation facilities;

      educational facilities;

      a new research facility.

   2. something that permits the easier performance of an action, course of conduct, etc..

      to provide someone with every facility for accomplishing a task;

      to lack facilities for handling bulk mail.

2. readiness or ease due to skill, aptitude, or practice; dexterity.

   to compose with great facility.

3. ready compliance.

   Her facility in organizing and directing made her an excellent supervisor.

4. an easy-flowing manner.

   facility of style.

5. the quality of being easily or conveniently done or performed.

6. Informal. Often facilities a restroom, especially one for use by the public, as in a theater or restaurant.

7. freedom from difficulty, controversy, misunderstanding, etc..

   facility of understanding.

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facility British  

/ fəˈsɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. ease of action or performance; freedom from difficulty

2. ready skill or ease deriving from practice or familiarity

3. (often plural) the means or equipment facilitating the performance of an action

4. rare easy-going disposition

5. military an organization or building offering supporting capability

6. (usually plural) a euphemistic word for lavatory

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfacility
  noun
• overfacility
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• facilities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of facility

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English facilite, from Middle French or directly from Latin facilitās; see facile, -ity

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Explanation

Facility is a noun with several different meanings. Often, as in "storage facility," it's a place designed for a specific use, but it can also mean an effortlessness or ease with something. The new stadium is a great facility for showing off Olympic winter sports. At this level, all of the ice skaters show a facility that borders on magical. Likewise, the prison is a great facility for storing prisoners. Those prisoners showed a real facility for crime. Related to the French facile, which means "easy," a person who shows a facility for something makes it seem easy. This is cool, especially if that thing is difficult — or, as the French might say, difficile.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

facility facilities

The facility aims to support Wing’s efforts to expand its delivery services across the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The effort to clean up the facility started about a decade ago, soon after testing revealed elevated lead levels in nearby residential soil, according to Newsom’s office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

At the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, scientists and medical professionals work together in the same facility.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

In 2025, the company moved into a new purpose-built, 116,000 sq ft facility, external at Indurent Park in Newport.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

They were quickly realizing that building a state-of-the-art facility was going to take a lot longer than they’d imagined.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

“Such moratoriums, or similar actions, could delay or prevent the construction or expansion of facilities on which we depend for compute,” the filing said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

New power plants have driven up electric rates and the facilities create noise pollution.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

The death chamber was taken down and all but a handful of the remaining condemned inmates were relocated from segregated housing in San Quentin to other facilities across the state after Newsom’s 2019 moratorium.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

The recommendations also establish expectations for cooperation among laboratories, phage manufacturing facilities, pharmacies, and clinical teams.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

Three months after his sentencing, the judge would receive an evaluation of his conduct at the Division of Juvenile Justice, as California’s juvenile facilities are called.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

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Related Words

• accommodation
• amenity
• equipment
• material
• resource
• tool

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