noun
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the state or condition of being possible
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anything that is possible
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a competitor, candidate, etc, who has a moderately good chance of winning, being chosen, etc
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(often plural) a future prospect or potential
my new house has great possibilities
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of possibility
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English possibilite, from Late Latin possibilitās, from Latin possibil(is) possible + -itās -ity
Explanation
If something could realistically happen, it's a possibility. So winning the lottery is a slight possibility, but becoming king of the world is not even a remote possibility. In one sense, a possibility is an option: "One possibility is that the UFO is just a shooting star." It can also mean more of a potential: "This house might look like an abandoned shack, but it's got so much possibility!" All meanings of possibility share the sense that something is able to happen, or is possible. The Latin root is possibilis, "that can be done."
Vocabulary lists containing possibility
"LAFFF"
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President Obama's second inaugural address
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 9
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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.
See Examples For:
These accompanying symptoms raised the possibility that inflammation could be contributing to the changes, rather than the hair loss being explained entirely by rapid weight reduction.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
The Dodgers are going to squander the grandest opportunity of all — the possibility of the three-peat, something only two other MLB franchises have pulled off, and none in the National League.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
"We always have the possibility that there's going to be a mistake made when human beings are involved in executions," said Robin Maher, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
There remains the possibility they will get the chance to wave them down the tiers once more in the near future.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Before she’d had children, Mama had become a teacher out of her sense of mission and possibility.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
The researchers believe the technology could eventually serve several purposes, with satellites and space exploration among the most promising possibilities.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026
Ruto wrote on X following the death, external: "I will remember him for his friendship, his energy, and his deep conviction in the possibilities of our continent."
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Then there’s other possibilities that also go to our lack of knowledge.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
The combination of auto-enrollment and stock donation opens up possibilities that weren’t previously imaginable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
“Burns was the first American to see the immense possibilities of the instrument in detective work,” the Literary Digest reported in 1912.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
