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

Fluence Energy cut its fiscal-year revenue forecast as production delays and logistical problems disrupt its new Houston manufacturing facility.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

“As tenant-operator that controlled the facility, Lineage is legally responsible for overseeing the site remediation, including cleanup, debris removal and remediation resources.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

He says he felt like an ant walking into the huge facility on his first day in prison; the guard towers reminded him of skyscrapers.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

He was heading to a state facility where Hassan had an office, in an area called Tahouneh on the outskirts of Damascus, according to several sources.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

SAD cases are admitted for free care at the Amnesia Sanctuary on Nomansan Island, a state-of-the-art facility where patients live comfortably, under strict quarantine, while the cure for their disease is sought.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Along with co-op facilities, he also purchased a plot of land in Delano to house the union’s first headquarters and learned how to handle media amid Chávez’s historic fasts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

"This is an example of an adaptation that can make a real difference to autistic people, enabling them to access facilities and venues," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Back in 2019, following attacks on oil-processing facilities in its east, the kingdom surprised the world and restored its production within days.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

UNC said in a statement last year that Hudson was welcome at the facilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The facilities only worsened as more patients arrived, crowding the cabins.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

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