DictionaryAI

ability

noun
uh-BIL-uh-tee/əˈbɪl.ə.ti/

Pluralabilities (some meanings)

4 meanings of ability

Practice

  1. 1
    noununcountable
    The power or capacity to do something, including the legal standing to act in a matter.

    His ability to stay calm under pressure impressed the whole crew.

    The team showed a real ability to adapt as conditions kept changing.

    UsageThe ability to + verb: the ability to fly (not incorrect: the ability of flying).

    Similarcapacity, capability, power

    Oppositeinability, incapacity

    Note

    Here the word measures plain capacity, and it does not need a person behind it. A phone has the ability to update its software wirelessly, and a wood has the ability to fight off insects and mold.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A particular skill, talent, or aptitude; a power of the mind, such as reason or memory.

    Musical ability often shows up early in childhood.

    The role demands strong organizational abilities and a cool head.

    UsageOften with an adjective or noun: musical ability, leadership abilities; also in mixed-ability (as in a mixed-ability class).

    Similarskill, talent, aptitude, gift, faculty

    Note

    In the plural the word sums up a person's range of talents, as when a job calls for strong organizational abilities. The singular can stand for talent in general, as in people of real ability, and schools speak of mixed-ability classes, where pupils of different skill levels learn together.

  3. 3
    enough moneynounarchaiccountable or uncountable
    The financial means or resources to meet a cost or undertaking.
    Note

    Money is treated here as a kind of power. In older English a person's ability could mean their purse, what they could afford to give or spend. The King James Bible of 1611 has the disciples sending famine relief to Judea "euery man according to his abilitie," each giving as much as he could afford.

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable
    The quality of being suitable or fit for a particular purpose.
    Note

    This early meaning stays closest to the word's roots: Middle English abilite, from Latin habilitās "aptness", built on habilis "apt, fit, skillful". In this sense a thing had ability when it was fit for its purpose. That use is obsolete. Today suitability or fitness carries the idea, and the word itself belongs to the capacity to do something.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Ability descends from Middle English abilite. en.wiktionary.org
    • The word ultimately derives from Latin habilitās, meaning aptness, which derives from habilis, meaning apt, fit or skillful. en.wiktionary.org
    • Ability formerly meant suitability or fitness, and that sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org

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Origin

First attested in the 1300s, 'ability' comes from Middle English 'abilite' (suitability, aptitude), from Old French 'ableté', from Latin 'habilitas' (aptness, ability), based on 'habilis' (apt, fit, skillful, able); it is equivalent to 'able' plus '-ity'.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts