credible

adjective

cred·​i·​ble ˈkre-də-bəl 

1

: offering reasonable grounds for being believed or trusted

credible evidence

a credible source

credible witnesses

gave a credible account of the accident

… said the threats were not deemed credible.

—Stephen Wall

2

: good enough to be effective

a credible job

… does a credible imitation of a ballet student's exercises, as well as a flapper's Charleston.

—Dany Margolies

often, specifically : of sufficient capability to be militarily effective

a credible deterrent

credible forces

credibly

ˈkre-də-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

Credible evidence is evidence that's likely to be believed. A credible plan is one that might actually work, and a credible excuse is one your parents might actually believe. And just as credible means "believable", the noun credibility means "believability". (But we no longer use incredible to mean the literal opposite of credible, just as we no longer use unbelievable as the literal opposite of believable.) Since cred is short for credibility, "street cred" is the kind of credibility among tough young people that you can only get by proving yourself on the mean streets of the inner city.

Synonyms

• plausible

Examples of credible in a Sentence

We've received credible information about the group's location.

She does a credible job of playing the famous singer.

Recent Examples on the Web

Younger Democrats are increasingly associating her with the past and see her as part of the problem that let Donald Trump back into the White House rather than a credible candidate for 2028. —Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025

Any of Morocco’s front three could have featured here; all credible suggestions for player of the tournament. —Thom Harris, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025

There is credible reporting that Alex, along with his father Randolph Murdaugh III (Gerald McRaney), went to the hospital in the early hours following the 2019 boat crash involving Paul Murdaugh (Johnny Berchtold) that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach (Madeline Popovich). —Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025

The Super Bowl is more than three months away, and if there have been any credible threats against the stadium that holds more than 68,000 fans, public safety officials aren’t saying. —Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin credibilis, from credere — see credence

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for credible

• edible
• incredible
• inedible

Kids Definition

credible

adjective

cred·​i·​ble ˈkred-ə-bəl 

: offering reasonable grounds for being believed

a credible story

credibly

ˈkred-ə-blē 

adverb