habitable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word 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
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Canada - Middle School and High School
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Farewell to Manzanar
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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.
Rubble from the demolition blast was strewn around the house, and other relatives could be seen cleaning up the spaces that were still habitable.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Rocky planets are especially important targets because they offer the possibility of environments similar to Earth, although finding one in a habitable zone would not by itself establish that life exists there.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
The military site will require some £200 million to make it habitable, including building a water treatment plant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Because plate tectonics drives much of that recycling on Earth, scientists have often viewed it as an important requirement for creating and maintaining habitable conditions.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
If the entire tidal-locked habitable zone looks like this, I can’t imagine a more beautiful new home for humans to live.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
