habitable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of habitable
1350–1400; Middle English habitābilis, equivalent to habitā ( re ) to inhabit ( see habitat) + -bilis -ble; replacing Middle English abitable < Middle French
Explanation
Something habitable is appropriate to live in. If you're having the wood floors of your house refinished, it might not be habitable until they've completely dried. Earth is a habitable planet: Mars isn't. In other words, humans can live comfortably on Earth, since its atmosphere has air we can breathe and temperatures we can tolerate. While many of us live in perfectly habitable homes and cities, there are also people whose living situations wouldn't be considered habitable by most of us. In Old French, habitable means "suitable for human dwelling," from the Latin habitare, "to inhabit."
Vocabulary lists containing habitable
Canada - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Canada - Middle School and High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Farewell to Manzanar
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Previous winners of the award have been recognised for communicating research on topics including the origins of the Moon and the search for habitable planets beyond our solar system.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
Hundreds of millions of those worlds could be habitable by our standards.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Meanwhile, TRAPPIST-1g, Kepler-441b, and GJ 102 offer insight into the colder outer edge of the habitable zone.
From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026
They also highlighted an additional 24 planets within a more restrictive 3D habitable zone, based on tighter assumptions about how much heat a planet can tolerate before becoming uninhabitable.
From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026
The Maya heartland, in other words, was a network of artificially habitable terrestrial islands.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
