Definition of "able"

able¹

/ˈeɪ.bl̩/

adjective
comparative abler, superlative ablest
1. Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.
2. Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from.
3. Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence.
  Quotations
  Natures that haue much Heat, and great and violent deſires and Perturbations, are not ripe for Action, till they haue paſſed the Meridian of their yeares: As it was with Iulius Cæſar, and Septimius Seuerus. […] And yet he [Septimus Severus] was the Ableſt Emperour, almoſt, of all the Liſt.
  1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Youth and Age. XLII.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, pages 247–248
4. (law) Legally qualified or competent.
5. (nautical) Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman.
6. (obsolete, dialectal) Having the physical strength; robust; healthy.
7. (obsolete) Easy to use.
  Quotations
  As the hands are the most habil parts of the body...
  1710, Thomas Betterton, The life of Mr. Thomas Betterton, the late eminent tragedian.
8. (obsolete) Suitable; competent.
  Quotations
  […] and for every able man servant that he or she shall carry or send armed and provided as aforesaid, ninety acres of land of like measure.
  2006, Jon L. Wakelyn, America's Founding Charters: Primary Documents of Colonial and Revolutionary Era Governance, volume 1, Greenwood Publishing Group, page 212
9. (obsolete, dialectal) Liable to.
10. (obsolete) Rich; well-to-do.

able²

/ˈeɪ.bl̩/

verb
third-person singular simple present ables, present participle abling, simple past and past participle abled
1. (transitive, obsolete) To make ready.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To make capable; to enable.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To dress.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To give power to; to reinforce; to confirm.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To vouch for; to guarantee.
  Quotations
  None does offend, none....I’ll able ’em.
  c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene vi]

able³

/ˈeɪ.bl̩/

noun
uncountable
1. (military) The letter "A" in Navy Phonetic Alphabet.

Definition of "able"

able1

adjective

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able2

verb

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able3

noun

able¹

able²

able³