functionality

British  

/ ˌfʌŋkʃənˈælɪtɪ /

noun

1. the quality of being functional

2. computing a function or range of functions in a computer, program, package, etc

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Explanation

The functionality of something is its usefulness, or how well it does the job it's meant to do. You might question the functionality of your new smartphone if you can't get it to send simple text messages. The noun functionality is often used to talk about technology and the new things it's capable of: "The functionality of the new computer model is incredible!" But you can also use it in a general way, to mean "practicality" or "capability." So you might admire the functionality of your neighbor's very basic, simple backyard grill (as opposed to your fancy gas model), which works perfectly well to cook hamburgers.

Example Sentences

Amazon said on Tuesday that it had also reached an agreement with Apple to continue offering the "SOS" functionality on its mobile devices.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

And while the Apollo capsules had room for three astronauts, the Orion craft carries four, as equipment was made to be more compact without a loss of functionality.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

After Anthropic requested that GitHub remove copies of its proprietary code, another programmer used other AI tools to rewrite the Claude Code functionality in other programming languages.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

"It showed that sildenafil, among other drugs, improved the electrical functionality of the nerve cells."

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

Emotion, functionality and the everyday experience of music: Where does music education fit?

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin