# competent

Pronunciation: say "KOM-puh-tuhnt" /ˈkɒmpətənt/

## Adjective

1. Having enough skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications to do something properly.
   - Simple: Having enough skill or knowledge to do something well.
   - _The committee hired a competent engineer to oversee the bridge repairs._
   - _Years of steady practice made her a thoroughly competent translator._
2. Good enough for the particular purpose at hand, meeting requirements without excelling.
   - Simple: Good enough for what is needed.
   - _The report was competent enough to satisfy the auditors._
   - _His performance was competent, covering every requirement without any flair._
3. Of a court, official, or other body, legally empowered to deal with a particular issue or question.
   - Simple: Having the legal power to deal with a certain matter.
   - _The treaty must be ratified by the competent national authority._
   - _A competent tribunal heard the boundary dispute between the two states._
4. Of a tissue or body system, working properly and performing its normal function adequately.
   - Simple: Working properly and able to do its normal job.
   - _Imaging showed a competent valve with no signs of leakage._
   - _Patients with a competent immune system usually recover quickly._
5. Of a cell, able to take up foreign DNA from its surroundings across the cell membrane.
   - Simple: Able to take in DNA from outside the cell.
   - _The lab chilled the bacteria with calcium chloride to render them competent._
   - _Competent cells absorbed the plasmid during the brief heat shock._
6. Of a rock or rock layer, resistant to deformation or flow under stress.
   - Simple: Of rock, strong enough to resist bending or breaking under pressure.
   - _The competent sandstone bed folded sharply while the softer shale flowed around it._
   - _Tunneling is safer through competent rock that holds its shape._

## Origin

From Middle English competent, from Old French competent, from Latin competens, the present participle of competō ("coincide, be equal to, be capable of"). It is related to Dutch, German, and Danish competent.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/competent (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).