portable

American  

[pawr-tuh-buhl, pohr-] / ˈpɔr tə bəl, ˈpoʊr- /

adjective

1. capable of being transported or conveyed.

   a portable stage.

2. easily carried or conveyed by hand.

   I found a lightweight, portable propane stove for our trekking holiday.

3. Computers. (of data sets, software, etc.) capable of being used on different computer systems.

4. Obsolete. endurable.

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noun

• portables
  plural

1. something that is easily carried by hand, especially as distinguished from a counterpart that is harder or less convenient to move.

   Of their three television sets, one is a portable.

portable British  

/ ˈpɔːtəbəl /

adjective

1. able to be carried or moved easily, esp by hand

2. (of software, files, etc) able to be transferred from one type of computer system to another

3. archaic able to be endured; bearable

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noun

1. an article designed to be readily carried by hand, such as a television, typewriter, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• portability
  noun
• nonportable
  adjective
• unportable
  adjective
• portably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• portables
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of portable

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin portābilis; see port ⁵, -able

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Explanation

If something's portable, you can easily take it with you . You may carry your portable computer with you from class to class because it's small, light, and fits easily in your backpack. First appearing around 1400, portable stems from the Latin word portare, meaning "to carry." Used as an adjective, portable describes something you can carry around easily. Used as a noun, it means a smaller, easy-to-carry version of something, like a computer or television. On a trip, you might take your portable so you can watch movies in the car. Before computers became popular, you might have carried around a lightweight typewriter called a portable.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

portable portables

“If landlords start to restrict portable solar in California, we’ll simply have to go back to the Legislature and expand the state’s Solar Rights Act,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

“What serves young people throughout a 60-year career are portable ‘soft’ skills, like relationship-building, complex problem-solving, collaborative work and managing group dynamics,” Deevy says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Everyone is touting products, armed with a portable card machine.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Measuring just centimeters across, the device could be incorporated into portable electronics and wearable health technology.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

Alexander had even filled a small, portable tin kettle with water from a nearby stream so Penelope could put it on to boil for tea.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Built into a refurbished shipping container, it’s filled with everything from tiny Walkman-style portables to colorful, number-flip clock radios and, naturally, boomboxes of all sizes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026

Some Fairmount classrooms and portables are located about 50 feet away from the yard, separated from the heavy work by a driveway and a chain-link fence.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2024

Just beware of the comparably low 30-watt limit on this charger, which isn’t sufficient to provide enough juice for more powerful portables like the MacBook Pro.

From The Verge ● Oct. 27, 2021

The only question portables raise for me are logistical.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2020

I want to go to our usual spot behind the portables, but I don’t know how to get us there.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

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Related Words

• compact
• convenient
• handy
• lightweight

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