power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc.
competence in an activity or occupation because of one's skill, training, or other qualification.
the ability to sing well.
abilities, talents; special skills or aptitudes.
Composing music is beyond his abilities.
possession of the qualities required to do something; necessary skill, competence, or power
the ability to cope with a problem
considerable proficiency; natural capability
a man of ability
(plural) special talents
Ability, faculty, talent denote qualifications or powers. Ability is a general word for power, native or acquired, enabling one to do things well: a person of great ability; ability in mathematics. Faculty denotes a natural ability for a particular kind of action: a faculty of saying what he means. Talent is often used to mean a native ability or aptitude in a special field: a talent for music or art.
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (h)abilite, from Middle French, from Latin habilitās ���aptitude,” equivalent to habili(s) “handy” ( see able) + -tās -ty 2; replacing Middle English ablete, from Old French, from Latin, as above
Middle English -abilite, from French -abilité, from Latin -ābilitās (inflectional stem -ābilitāt- )
How does ability compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Ability is skill or talent. You might have the ability to blow bubbles, or sing in a falsetto, or dance the waltz. Or, just maybe, you have the ability to do all three things at once. Impressive! From the Old French ablate "expert at handling (something)," and that from the Latin habilitatem, "aptitude," comes the English ability, a noun indicating the power to act, perform, or accomplish. Capacity is similar in meaning to ability, but note that people have a capacity for doing something, and an ability to do something.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Havertz is one of Arteta's favourite players on and off the pitch and they have missed his ability to link play.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Until users’ ages are verified, Roblox said it is limiting their ability to communicate with each other through the platform, which has hampered engagement.
From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026
Chief Executive Elon Musk has made bold pronouncements about the ability of driverless vehicles to transform society, and his company’s fortunes, by deploying millions of self-driving Teslas across the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
“The ability to get people into a place they can call their own is critically important,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
The ability to see the threads of the universe and manipulate them was labeled dangerous.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.