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

Etymology

Origin of facility

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

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 athletic director who first agreed to Riley’s facility request, Mike Bohn, resigned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

"The whole environment is changing," said Chilbolton Observatory's facility leader Sarah Nash.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

Next week, Inlyte plans to deliver its first battery pack to Southern Company, which operates regulated utilities in four states, at its Wilsonville, Ala., energy-storage facility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

An FBI criminal complaint said he had freely admitted his involvement when he was questioned by a police officer in a Libyan detention facility in 2012.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Nothing drastic; laundry, Hoovering, that sort of thing. It’s a secret facility, so we can’t exactly hire staff to clean up.”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

These facilities require enormous amounts of power not only to operate their computing equipment, but also to keep it cool.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

Here, “Maddie’s Secret” fully diverges from its semi-parodic path, following Maddie to treatment, which, like many people who end up in mandatory care facilities, she doesn’t take seriously, believing she knows her body best.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

"They promise citizenship; access to public benefits; and short-term stays in specialised facilities, hotels, or rentals, but often fail to deliver on these promises," the order says.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

These are of the same kind that hackers recently exploited to break into water facilities in at least seven U.S. states.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"Come on, we're running out of time. We'll start with the sports facilities."

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

Related Words

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