durable

adjective du·ra·ble \ ˈdu̇r-ə-bəl also ˈdyu̇r- \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of durable

: able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration in quality or value

a durable suitcase

; also : designed to be durable

durable goods

—

durability

play \ˌdu̇r-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē, ˌdyu̇r-\ noun

—

durableness

play \ˈdu̇r-ə-bəl-nəs, ˈdyu̇r-\ noun

—

durably

play \-blē\ adverb

See durable defined for English-language learners

See durable defined for kids

durable was our Word of the Day on 12/03/2015. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of durable from the Web

Tech giants argue that their dominance is hardly durable because barriers to entry are low for new competitors.

— jaclyn gallucci, Fortune, "Here's How Washington Could 'Unfriend' Facebook," 12 Apr. 2018
Howard has been durable and has put up big numbers all year.

— scott fowler, charlotteobserver, "Should Steve Clifford return as Charlotte Hornets coach next season? | Charlotte Observer," 8 Apr. 2018
Left unsaid, however, is that Isaac must — must — be more durable in future seasons.

— josh robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Jonathan Isaac appears unlikely to play again this season," 6 Apr. 2018
The bridge was intended to be strong enough to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and durable enough to last 100 years, the university boasted in a fact sheet.

— eric levenson, CNN, "The footbridge was built to save lives. Instead, it left 6 dead," 18 Mar. 2018
The pad has plenty of width for moving around, and the bottom of the pad is durable enough for a night spent outside of the tent.

— mandy ferreira, Sunset, "10 Best Sleeping Pads for Camping," 22 Jan. 2018
Defensively, the good news is that Cain proved durable enough to play 151 games in centerfield.

— jay jaffe, SI.com, "What Is Lorenzo Cain Really Worth? More Than You May Think," 8 Jan. 2018
Scientists have long struggled to design a PEC device that is both efficient and durable enough to be cost-effective.

— melissa c. lott, Scientific American, "This Advance Brings Us a Lot Closer to a "Hydrogen Economy"," 1 May 2017
Glue was not applied properly and a new lining thought to be more cost-effective was not durable.

— melissa devaughn, Anchorage Daily News, "Iconic in Alaska, classic Xtratuf boot gets a redesign," 31 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'durable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Something "durable" lasts a long time, so it's no surprise that the word comes to us, via Anglo-French, from the Latin verb durare, meaning "to last." Other descendants of "durare" in English include "during," "endure," and "durance" (which now mostly turns up in the phrase "in durance vile," a fancy way of saying "in prison"). "Durable" even has a near synonym in the much rarer "perdurable," which combines "durare" with the prefix per- (meaning "throughout") to create a word that can mean "lasting a very long time or indefinitely" or "eternal."