adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonreusable adjective
- nonreuseable adjective
- nonusable adjective
- nonuseable adjective
- reusability noun
- reusable adjective
- reusableness noun
- reuseability noun
- reuseable adjective
- reuseableness noun
- unusable adjective
- unusableness noun
- unusably adverb
- unuseable adjective
- unuseableness noun
- unuseably adverb
- usability noun
- usableness noun
- usably adverb
- useability noun
- useableness noun
- useably adverb
Etymology
Origin of usable
Explanation
Something that's usable can be successfully used right away for its intended purpose. If your car is usable, it's running just fine. A usable tent has all of its poles and is more or less waterproof, and a usable pair of shoes fits well and doesn't have holes. Describing something as usable can sometimes be faint praise: "Well, this basketball is usable, but just barely." When information is described as usable, it usually means it's actively available, and not just stored in a computer, for example. This is a relatively new adjective, first appearing around 1840.
Vocabulary lists containing usable
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When recycled materials can move to their highest-value use, the system produces more usable supply, supports investment and strengthens domestic manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Hyperscalers can order servers and deploy them quickly, but the transformer that steps down high-voltage transmission to usable power cannot be rushed.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
Each material was applied to activated carbon fibers to create usable samples.
From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026
We are closing side roads to the crash gates to keep these usable but the issue of pavement parking continues.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026
“So they both go racing out of here panic-stricken. It’ll still give us time to react. And they won’t kill Isidore; he’s not on their list. That’s why he’s usable as a cover.”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
