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

There’s nothing, really, besides a sales pitch that has become less and less credible to a rightfully impatient fan base. —Sam Blum, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025

Abrego Garcia entered the country illegally more than a decade ago but had a court order blocking his deportation to El Salvador over what a judge found was a credible fear of persecution by gangs there. —Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025

While Kopalyan and Alili see the Accords as a credible initiative, there are suspicions on the ground in Syunik too—and in particular that Azerbaijani forces could use the deal as a way to ultimately secure control for themselves. —Michele Crestani, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

There is no credible information. —Jay O'Brien, ABC News, 2 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