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 of credible

• 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

The elevation of figures and movements built around skepticism of vaccines, institutions and public health expertise further normalized distrust at precisely the moment the country needed serious leadership and credible public health communication. —Brian Castrucci, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026

In one sense, Anthropic has a credible claim to hold the keys to perhaps the most powerful technology of all time, while taking it upon itself to warn governments and societies of that inconvenient fact. —Billy Perrigo, Time, 22 May 2026

The charges are widely viewed as credible, but Morales claims political persecution. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 May 2026

Besides, the cumulative effect of Molo’s sustained effort to demand Altman’s self-incrimination seemed to remind the courtroom that most of us, irrespective of our own faults, tend to think of ourselves as credible people doing our best. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026

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