visibility

American  

[viz-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌvɪz əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

• visibilities
  plural

1. the state or fact of being visible.

2. the relative ability to be seen under given conditions of distance, light, atmosphere, etc..

   low visibility due to fog.

3. Also called visual range.  Meteorology. the distance at which a given standard object can be seen and identified with the unaided eye.

4. the ability to give a relatively large range of unobstructed vision.

   a windshield with good visibility.

5. Typography. legibility.

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visibility British  

/ ˌvɪzɪˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the condition or fact of being visible

2. clarity of vision or relative possibility of seeing

3. the range of vision

   visibility is 500 yards

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intervisibility
  noun
• nonvisibility
  noun
• previsibility
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• visibilities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of visibility

1575–85; < Late Latin vīsibilitās, equivalent to Latin vīsibili ( s ) visible + -tās -ty ²

Explanation

Use the noun visibility to describe how well you can see something, like the great visibility from the top of a mountain on a clear day. In addition to meaning "how well you can see," visibility can also mean "how well others can see something." So, the reflective stripes on your running pants give you visibility in the dark because they help other people see you. Another kind of visibility is being in the public eye, like an actor whose visibility helps him land roles in movies and promote the causes he cares about, like literacy or helping endangered animals.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

visibility visibilities

“Whether visibility is the key to how close they’ll get before they make that recognition, we just don’t know,” Lowe said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

He added that Nvidia also “gains better visibility into where open development is heading,” which will help the company in developing its product roadmap to remain the standard for AI infrastructure.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

It continues to favor Airports of Thailand, Central Plaza Hotel and Erawan Group, which offer relatively strong operating trends and earnings visibility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Sustained prices could improve upstream project economics, encourage higher development spending, while greater cash-flow visibility may prompt operators to resume deferred brownfield and asset-integrity work, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

He’s so tall, too, that she has to crane her neck to make a safe turn because her visibility is impaired.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

“It looks like winds may be strong enough in the Antelope Valley that there might be some reduced visibilities due to blowing dust and sand.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2022

Interstate 35 north of the city was closed for a time due to snow-caked roads and low visibilities.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2022

Images captured at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in Mammoth Lakes revealed visibilities down to barely 200 feet.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 28, 2021

I think that there has been a shift that is less law and legislation than shifts in consciousness and visibilities, and that will have consequences.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 8, 2018

Clearly, if the most brilliant star in the heavens and a star that cannot be seen by the naked eye, prove to be equidistant, relative distances cannot be in the least inferred from relative visibilities.

From Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I by Herbert Spencer