el·i·gi·ble
ˈe-lə-jə-bəl 
1
a
: qualified to participate or be chosen
eligible to retire
b
: permitted under football rules to catch a forward pass
2
: worthy of being chosen
an eligible young bachelor
plural eligibles
: a person or thing that is qualified or permitted to do or be something : one that is eligible for something
As with the College of Cardinals and the papacy, where every cardinal, in theory, is eligible to be Pope but the number of real eligibles is substantially smaller, so with the American Presidency.—
Stephen R. Graubard
Stephen R. Graubard… when she entered life, beautiful, accomplished, and an heiress, she had, of course, all the eligibles … of the other sex sighing at her feet …—Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher StoweExamples of eligible in a Sentence
Adjective
… more than six years since the fall of the Taliban, fewer than 30% of eligible girls are enrolled in schools, and the infrastructure is so poor that only a tiny fraction are likely to get the education they need to enjoy the fruits of emancipation.
—Aryn Baker, Time, 28 Jan. 2008
She wanted to start her own family. She was twenty-six and without prospects. At church her mother prayed, and at Crystal Nail, where she lacquered and lengthened, her mother asked customers about eligible young men. She kept Li En's graduation photo mounted in the right corner of her mirror, so that every customer would see her daughter, diploma in hand.
—Max Apple, Atlantic, November 2003
I'd like to join but I'm not eligible yet.
Aryn Baker, Time, 28 Jan. 2008
She wanted to start her own family. She was twenty-six and without prospects. At church her mother prayed, and at Crystal Nail, where she lacquered and lengthened, her mother asked customers about eligible young men. She kept Li En's graduation photo mounted in the right corner of her mirror, so that every customer would see her daughter, diploma in hand.
—Max Apple, Atlantic, November 2003
I'd like to join but I'm not eligible yet.
Recent Examples on the Web
Corey Pronman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Deduction Sole proprietors and owners of pass-through businesses like limited liability corporations (LLCs), S corporations, and partnerships may be eligible for a deduction of up to 20% to lower the tax rate for qualified business income.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024
The average age of the roster is 24 years, 7 weeks, and eight players are age-eligible for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is a U-23 tournament.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for eligible
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Adjective
Players eligible for this exercise had to have actually been drafted in the draft class mentioned, regardless of their first year of eligibility.
—Corey Pronman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Deduction Sole proprietors and owners of pass-through businesses like limited liability corporations (LLCs), S corporations, and partnerships may be eligible for a deduction of up to 20% to lower the tax rate for qualified business income.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
There are two potential 2025 draft eligibles in this projection: Victor Eklund, who has been highly productive in the Swedish Allsvenskan, and Anton Frondell, who came into the season looking like a potential top-five pick but has been quieter to begin the year.
—Scott Wheeler, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024
The average age of the roster is 24 years, 7 weeks, and eight players are age-eligible for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is a U-23 tournament.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for eligible
Cite this Entry
“Eligible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eligible. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
eligible
adjective
el·i·gi·ble
ˈel-ə-jə-bəl
: qualified to be chosen or to participate
eligible to vote
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