capability

noun

ca·​pa·​bil·​i·​ty ˌkā-pə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

plural capabilities

1

: the quality or state of being capable

also : ability

The mayor has demonstrated his capability to handle municipal problems.

2

: a feature or faculty capable of development : potentiality

This vacant urban district has great capabilities.

3

: the facility or potential for an indicated use or deployment

the capability of a metal to be fused

nuclear capability

Synonyms of capability

• qualification
• ability
• expertise
• talent
• stuff

Examples of capability in a Sentence

The device has the capability of recording two television channels at once.

the nature of the tasks to which you are assigned will depend on your capabilities

Recent Examples on the Web

By recognizing that computing power is just as vital to 21st-century medicine as electricity or clean water, hardware capabilities are going to be one of the most important aspects in the coming decades. — Forbes.com, 27 June 2026

In addition to its hefty capital requirements, the company is trading lower from the selloff in software names as investors worry that AI models will replace many of their products’ capabilities. — Jordan Novet, CNBC, 26 June 2026

And the team will conduct research trials to assess the system's capabilities. — New Atlas, 26 June 2026

The peninsula, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to reclaim, has become the centerpiece of Kyiv’s campaign to demonstrate the reach of its increasingly advancing medium-range drone capabilities. — Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing capability

• nuclear capability

Rhymes for capability

• affability
• audibility
• bistability
• changeability
• contractility
• credibility
• culpability
• disability
• disutility
• durability
• fallibility
• feasibility