adjective
Other Word Forms
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reusabilitynoun
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reusablenessnoun
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reuseabilitynoun
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reuseablenessnoun
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unusablenessnoun
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unuseablenessnoun
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usabilitynoun
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usablenessnoun
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useabilitynoun
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useablenessnoun
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nonreusableadjective
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nonreuseableadjective
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nonusableadjective
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nonuseableadjective
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reusableadjective
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reuseableadjective
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unusableadjective
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unuseableadjective
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unusablyadverb
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unuseablyadverb
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usablyadverb
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useablyadverb
Etymology
Origin of usable
Explanation
Something that's usable can be successfully used right away for its intended purpose. If your car is usable, it's running just fine. A usable tent has all of its poles and is more or less waterproof, and a usable pair of shoes fits well and doesn't have holes. Describing something as usable can sometimes be faint praise: "Well, this basketball is usable, but just barely." When information is described as usable, it usually means it's actively available, and not just stored in a computer, for example. This is a relatively new adjective, first appearing around 1840.
Vocabulary lists containing usable
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.
Usable foreign reserves would be about $30 billion, said Zahid Hussain, a former chief economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2022
My guest today is Deborah Landau, author of “The Uses of the Body” and “The Last Usable Hour,” both Lannan Literary Selections.
From The New Yorker • Nov. 30, 2018
Usable square feet is that part of your commercial rental space that only you will be using.
From Encyclopedia.com • Mar. 1, 2018
But you probably don’t, according to a study from researchers at Google presented at the Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security last week.
From Slate • Jul. 30, 2015
Food and Water Would Be Available and Usable From many studies, the Federal Government has determined that enough food and water would be available after an attack to sustain our surviving citizens.
From In Time of Emergency A Citizen's Handbook on Nuclear Attack, Natural Disasters (1968) by United States. Office of Civil Defense
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.
