capable
adjective
ca·pa·ble
ˈkā-pə-bəl 
in rapid speech ˈkāp-bəl
1
: susceptible
a remark capable of being misunderstood
2
obsolete
: comprehensive
3
: having attributes (such as physical or mental power) required for performance or accomplishment
is capable of intense concentration
4
: having traits conducive to or features permitting something
this woman is capable of murder by violence—
Robert Graves
Robert Graves5
: having legal right to own, enjoy, or perform
of my land … to make thee capable—Shakespeare
Shakespeare6
: having or showing general efficiency and ability
a capable lawyer
a capable performance
Examples of capable in a Sentence
a capable and efficient editor
Recent Examples on the Web
Well, that is highly dependent on an IT staff that is capable of deploying, optimizing and supporting over time.
—Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
Now the challenge for academy chief Chris McGuane, head of player development Craig Mulholland, and Joyce, is not to produce young men capable of playing in the Championship but in the Champions League.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 8 May 2025
The second-year guard out of Santa Clara has been a capable 3-point shooter throughout his first two seasons.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
The same malware can give hackers persistent access to the router, and lead to the formation of a botnet, an army of infected computers capable of hosting malicious activity, including DDoS attacks.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for capable
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Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
Now the challenge for academy chief Chris McGuane, head of player development Craig Mulholland, and Joyce, is not to produce young men capable of playing in the Championship but in the Champions League.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 8 May 2025
The second-year guard out of Santa Clara has been a capable 3-point shooter throughout his first two seasons.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
The same malware can give hackers persistent access to the router, and lead to the formation of a botnet, an army of infected computers capable of hosting malicious activity, including DDoS attacks.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for capable
Cite this Entry
“Capable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capable. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
capable
adjective
ca·pa·ble
ˈkā-pə-bəl
1
: having the qualities (as physical or mental power) to do or accomplish something
you are capable of better work
2
: having qualities or features permitting
a new train capable of very high speeds
3
: able to do one's job well : generally efficient
tries to hire capable people
capability
noun
ˌkā-pə-ˈbil-ət-ē
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