portable

1 of 2

adjective

por·​ta·​ble ˈpȯr-tə-bəl 

1

a

: capable of being carried or moved about

a portable TV

b

: characterized by portability

a portable pension

c

: usable on many computers with little or no modification

portable software

2

archaic : bearable

portably

ˈpȯr-tə-blē 

adverb

portable

2 of 2

noun

: something that is portable

Synonyms

Adjective

• mobile
• movable
• moveable

Examples of portable in a Sentence

Adjective

Portable devices such as MP3 players are becoming increasingly popular.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

This mini portable charger power bank from Lanluk is lightweight and small enough to keep in your pocket. —Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2024

Denali park rangers communicated with the group of climbers for several hours through a portable device that uses satellite to send messages. —CBS News, 1 June 2024

Noun

This configuration comes with some surprisingly solid components for a bargain portable, including an AMD Ryzen 7-5700U processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD with Windows 11 Home pre-installed. —K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 10 May 2024

Lenovo rarely skimps on components, and this portable brings you a surprisingly speedy Ryzen 5 7530U CPU with integrated Radeon graphics, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. —K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 6 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin portabilis, from Latin portare to carry — more at fare

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1708, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

portable

adjective

por·​ta·​ble

ˈpōrt-ə-bəl,

ˈpȯrt-

: possible to carry or move about

a portable computer

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English portable "capable of being carried or moved about," from early French portable (same meaning), from Latin portabilis (same meaning), from earlier portare "to carry" — related to portfolio, transport