reliability
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of reliability
Explanation
It's nice when someone compliments your reliability because it means they think you are dependable. Things that are known for reliability? Your best friend, sunrise, sunset and unfortunately also taxes. The word is a new one and didn't become common until after 1850 during the Industrial Revolution. Before things were mass produced, how reliable they were was not such an issue. Interesting fact: reliability is an American word, and the Brits scoffed at its new usage.
Vocabulary lists containing reliability
Monster
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Mechanical Engineering
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Structural Engineering
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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.
“Despite this outcome, the City remains committed to improving streetlight reliability, repairing outages faster, and building a sustainable funding path for streetlight operations and maintenance,” the group statement said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
“As intelligent machines become increasingly autonomous and operate around people, the requirements for safety, security, reliability, and real-time determinism become even more important,” he added.
From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026
Thus far, Amazon’s strategy seems to emphasize cost and reliability, while Google appears focused on clean energy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
In the longer term, Halsall said that he would deliver the company's largest ever investment programme of £2.1bn to "improve reliability and resilience".
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
Arresting someone for coming forward with credible evidence that challenged the reliability of a capital murder conviction?
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
