equitable

American  

[ek-wi-tuh-buhl] / ˈɛk wɪ tə bəl /

adjective

1. characterized by equity or fairness; just and right; fair.

   equitable treatment of all citizens.

   Synonyms:

   unprejudiced, unbiased, objective, impartial, dispassionate, just, fair, evenhanded

   Antonyms:

   prejudiced, biased, inequitable, unequitable, unjust, unfair

2. Law.

   1. pertaining to or valid in equity.

   2. pertaining to the system of equity, as distinguished from the common law.

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equitable British  

/ ˈɛkwɪtəbəl /

adjective

1. impartial or reasonable; fair; just

   an equitable decision

2. law relating to or valid in equity, as distinct from common law or statute law

3. law (formerly) recognized in a court of equity only, as claims, rights, etc

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Other Word Forms

• equitability noun
• equitableness noun
• equitably adverb
• nonequitable adjective
• quasi-equitable adjective

Etymology

Origin of equitable

First recorded in 1640–50; equit(y) + -able

Explanation

Equitable distribution means everyone gets their fair share of something.If you work on a group project in class, you want an equitable share of the credit. When you look at equitable, you might think you see the word, equal, but it doesn't mean fair in the sense of exactly the same. If you worked ten hours at a lemonade stand and your friend worked five, you'd want an equitable share of the profits rather than an equal share. Equitable would take into account the amount of work you did, equal would not.

Example Sentences

Though it is a matter of some debate exactly how equitable the league was even in its earliest days, by the middle of the century it had, as Mr. Stuttard writes, “mutated” into an empire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

According to Americans for Tax Fairness—a group advocating for equitable tax policies—billionaire wealth alone totaled $4 trillion at the end of 2020.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

We’d have to think about what it looks like to produce actually equitable distributions of resources and distributions of burden.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

“The only way around it is for the states to agree how to divvy up the river in an equitable way.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026

“But the constant lecturing on the perils of dogged bowels—not quite an equitable trade, is it?”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• decent
• fair
• honest
• proper
• reasonable
• stable
• unbiased