abil·i·ty
ə-ˈbi-lə-tē 
plural abilities
1
a
: the quality or state of being able
the ability of the soil to hold water
especially
: physical, mental, or legal power to do something
a writer's ability to engage the reader's interest
did the work to the best of her ability [=as well as she could]
b
: competence in doing something : skill
artistic abilities
c
: a person's status with regard to having a disability
—used especially in legal and official statements
These guidelines not only help make web content accessible to users with sensory, cognitive and mobility disabilities, but ultimately to all users, regardless of ability.—
whitehouse.gov
whitehouse.gov2
: natural aptitude or acquired proficiency
students with different abilities
variants
or less commonly -ibility
: capacity, fitness, or tendency to act or be acted on in a (specified) way
agglutinability
Examples of ability in a Sentence
Noun
a young woman with many remarkable musical abilities
a young woman of great musical ability
She has shown some ability with foreign languages.
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul Hsieh, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Read More: How Climate Change Will Affect the Seasons
The firings, which are expected to continue in the coming days, have sparked outrage among experts and lawmakers, who warn that such cuts could severely hamper NOAA's ability to respond to the increasing severity of weather events.
—Nik Popli, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
That means Aiden has a slightly larger window of time than most children, but his disease is still progressing and stealing his abilities from him.
—Taylor Grothe, Parents, 28 Feb. 2025
The Bucs' low ranking — 27th of 32 teams overall — could affect their ability to lure free agents and retain players.
—Jeff Weiner, Axios, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ability
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
But human physicians can also be overconfident in their reasoning abilities, and may wrongly ignore correct diagnoses offered by patients, non-physician health workers or AI systems.
—Paul Hsieh, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Read More: How Climate Change Will Affect the Seasons
The firings, which are expected to continue in the coming days, have sparked outrage among experts and lawmakers, who warn that such cuts could severely hamper NOAA's ability to respond to the increasing severity of weather events.
—Nik Popli, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
That means Aiden has a slightly larger window of time than most children, but his disease is still progressing and stealing his abilities from him.
—Taylor Grothe, Parents, 28 Feb. 2025
The Bucs' low ranking — 27th of 32 teams overall — could affect their ability to lure free agents and retain players.
—Jeff Weiner, Axios, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ability
Cite this Entry
“Ability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ability. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ability
1 of 2 noun
abil·i·ty
ə-ˈbil-ət-ē
plural abilities
1
a
: the quality or state of being able : power to do something
b
: competence in doing : skill
2
: natural or learned skill
-ability
2 of 2 noun suffix
-abil·i·ty
variants
also -ibility
ə-ˈbil-ət-ē
plural -ties
: ability, fitness, or likeliness to act or be acted on in (such) a way
readability
Etymology
Noun suffix
derived from Latin -abilitas, -ibilitas "-ability"
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