Able

Double click on any word to get a popup explanation of the word and sample sentences
Dictionary | Wikipedia | Synonyms | Name | Quotation | News

Dictionary Meaning and Definition on 'Able'

Able Meaning and Definition from WordNet (r) 2.0
    able adj
  1. (usually followed by `to') having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something; "able to swim"; "she was able to program her computer"; "we were at last able to buy a car"; "able to get a grant for the project" [ant: unable]
  2. have the skills and qualifications to do things well; "able teachers"; "a capable administrator"; "children as young as 14 can be extremely capable and dependable" [syn: capable]
  3. having inherent physical or mental ability or capacity; "able to learn"; "human beings are able to walk on two feet"; "Superman is able to leap tall buildings"
  4. having a strong healthy body; "an able seaman"; "every able-bodied young man served in the army" [syn: able-bodied]
Able Meaning and Definition from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
    Able \A"ble\, a. [Comp. Abler; superl. Ablest.] [OF. habile, L. habilis that may be easily held or managed, apt, skillful, fr. habere to have, hold. Cf. Habile and see Habit.]
  1. Fit; adapted; suitable. [Obs.] A many man, to ben an abbot able. --Chaucer.
  2. Having sufficient power, strength, force, skill, means, or resources of any kind to accomplish the object; possessed of qualifications rendering competent for some end; competent; qualified; capable; as, an able workman, soldier, seaman, a man able to work; a mind able to reason; a person able to be generous; able to endure pain; able to play on a piano.
  3. Specially: Having intellectual qualifications, or strong mental powers; showing ability or skill; talented; clever; powerful; as, the ablest man in the senate; an able speech. No man wrote abler state papers. --Macaulay.
  4. (Law) Legally qualified; possessed of legal competence; as, able to inherit or devise property. Note: Able for, is Scotticism. ``Hardly able for such a march.'' --Robertson. Syn: Competent; qualified; fitted; efficient; effective; capable; skillful; clever; vigorous; powerful.
Able Meaning and Definition from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
    Able \A"ble\, v. t. [See Able, a.] [Obs.]
  1. To make able; to enable; to strengthen. --Chaucer.
  2. To vouch for. ``I 'll able them.'' --Shak.

Would you like to add your own explaination to this word 'Able'?

Wikipedia Meaning and Definition on 'Able'


  • Able: Able may refer to: In science and technology: ABLE (nuclear weapon), a U.S. 1946 nuclear weapon test series ABLE (programming language), a ...
  • Able seaman: An able seaman (AB) is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship . An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, ...
  • Able Seaman (rank): Notable Able Seamen: Some notable Able Seamen from the Royal Navy include: ship's cat on HMS Amethyst, promoted to Able Seaman in the Royal Navy. ...
  • Hurricane Able (1951): Hurricane Able was the strongest recorded hurricane outside of the typical Atlantic hurricane season. Able developed from a trough of ...

Words and phrases related to 'Able'


Meaning of the Name 'Able'


  • Meaning: Exhalation of breath. The second son of Adam in the bible. The variant Able is used as an English surname.
  • Origin: Hebrew
  • Gender: Male

'Able' in famous quotation sentence


* Someone asked Sophocles, How do you feel now about sex Are you able to have a woman He replied, Hush man most gladly indeed am I rid off it all, as though I had escaped from a mad and savage master. - Sophocles

* Character, in great and little things, means carrying through what you feel able to do. - Johann von Goethe

* To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue...They are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. - Confucius


Click here for more related quotations on 'Able'

Able Sample Sentences in News


  • Quadriplegic able to regain some hand function due to nerve transfer - CBS News
    (CBS News) Doctors have successfully restored partial hand function to a quadriplegic patient, providing hope for many others who have lost the function of their arms and legs. The case study was written about in the May 15 issue of the Journal ... Read more on this news related to 'Able'
  • Hezbollah says able to strike anywhere in Israel - msnbc.com
    BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said his militant group was capable of striking any target in neighboring Israel, saying "the days when we fled and they did not are over". "Today we are not only able to hit Tel Aviv as a ... Read more on this news related to 'Able'
  • Teen ministry: 2 were able to walk away, seek help after Kansas plane crash; 1 died later - Washington Post
    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A teen ministry official says two of the five people aboard a small plane that crashed in Kansas on the way to a Christian youth rally in Iowa were able to walk away from the crash. One later died. A hospital spokesman said ... Read more on this news related to 'Able'

Want to be famous? Add your definition to the meaning of 'Able'


Search for more meaning of 'Able' on the web