able in English: Having the power, skill, or chance to do something. (adjective)

Translation

Having the power, skill, or chance to do something.

Word origin

From Old French able, based on Latin habilis, meaning easy to handle or fit for a task.

Origin: Old French
Root: able

Examples

.

"Able" means she has the skill to swim.

?

Here "able" asks if you managed to find it.

.

"Able" with "not" means we could not do it.

"Able" means you can do something because you have the power, skill, or chance. We often use it with "to", as in "able to read". It has a similar meaning to the word "can".

Related words

can

To be able to do something, or to be allowed to do it.

free

Not costing any money, or not held back or kept in by anyone.

help

To do something that makes things easier or better for another person.

do

To carry out an action, and also a helper word used to make questions and negatives.

sure

Knowing that something is true and having no doubt about it.

cannot

Used to say that you are not able to do something, or that you are not allowed to do it.

capable

Having the skill or the power that is needed to do something.

ready

Able to do something now, with nothing left to wait for.

Where this fits

The 1,000 most common English words

Where this word sits in the core vocabulary, and what to learn around it.

English vocabulary by CEFR level

How many words each level actually needs, with real counts.

Used in

Grammar articles

(4)

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue