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

The company just struck a 20-year deal with Chevron that has the oil giant building a natural gas power-generation facility to supply electricity to a massive data center complex Microsoft is building in West Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

Willetts said the various issues meant working at the hospital was "like trying to build a house on sand while putting a fire out", and the facility "never recovered" from its problems.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026

Kenya has ordered a halt to preparations for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility, the health minister told a court Tuesday, after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work order.

From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026

He dealt with long-term logistics, such as selecting a memory-care facility and overseeing that transition.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 23, 2026

I biked down to the big machine shop, finding the three-footer laid out on a black cloth on a table in the rear of the facility.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

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