facility

[ fuh-sil-i-tee ]

noun

, plural fa·cil·i·ties.

1. Often facilities.
   1. something designed, built, installed, etc., to serve a specific function affording a convenience or service:

      transportation facilities;

      educational facilities;

      a new research facility.

   2. something that permits the easier performance of an action, course of conduct, etc.:

      to provide someone with every facility for accomplishing a task;

      to lack facilities for handling bulk mail.

2. readiness or ease due to skill, aptitude, or practice; dexterity:

   to compose with great facility.

3. ready compliance:

   Her facility in organizing and directing made her an excellent supervisor.

4. an easy-flowing manner:

   facility of style.

5. the quality of being easily or conveniently done or performed.
6. Often facilities. Informal. a restroom, especially one for use by the public, as in a theater or restaurant.
7. freedom from difficulty, controversy, misunderstanding, etc.:

   facility of understanding.

facility

/ fəˈsɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. ease of action or performance; freedom from difficulty
2. ready skill or ease deriving from practice or familiarity
3. often plural the means or equipment facilitating the performance of an action
4. rare.
   easy-going disposition
5. military an organization or building offering supporting capability
6. usually plural a euphemistic word for lavatory

Other Words From

• non·fa·cil·i·ty noun plural nonfacilities
• o·ver·fa·cil·i·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of facility¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English facilite, from Middle French or directly from Latin facilitās; facile, -ity

Word History and Origins

Origin of facility¹

C15: from Latin facilitās , from facilis easy; see facile

Example Sentences

Human rights groups allege more than a million Uyghurs have been detained in hundreds of facilities, which China has termed “re-education camps”.

From BBC

He said the facility has “maintained the supervision, staffing and resources necessary to provide timely and vital health and safety information to those asking us to perform tests throughout the current outbreak of avian flu.”

From Los Angeles Times

All of the wood — more than 1 million tons of it every year — would converge at storage facilities at the Port of Stockton.

From Los Angeles Times

The tape played on loop all week in Notre Dame’s facility, a sobering reminder for the Irish two years later of what USC, under Lincoln Riley, could be when everything was working in concert.

From Los Angeles Times

There have also been concerns over publicly funding a facility which bears the name of an Irish rebel, executed for high treason.

From BBC

Related Words

• accommodation
• amenity
• equipment
• material
• resource
• tool