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

This narrower range of options could make its nuclear threats less credible in a conflict over an ally’s security. — Ivo H. Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

But this season the Western Conference is stacked with teams with credible championship ambitions, including the Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. — Alex Sherman, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026

This is not the first time American or Canadian law enforcement officials have warned Pannun of possible credible threats this year. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

When the next budget is reviewed, leaders should be able to point to a useful service, a full account of its costs and a credible way to fund it. — Hani Assi, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 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