Portable or potable?
portable is an adjective meaning “Able to be carried or easily moved”; potable is an adjective meaning “Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) portable is about 14 times as common as potable.
What is the difference between portable and potable?
| portable | potable | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun | adjective, noun |
| Meaning | Able to be carried or easily moved Able to be transferred from one organization to another A trailer or other movable structure used for classes at a school | Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning Any drinkable liquid; a beverage |
| Example | a portable pension plan | potable water |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/ /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbl̩/ /ˈpɔɹtəbəl/ | /ˈpəʊtəbəl/ /ˈpɒt-/ /ˈpoʊtəbəl/ |
| In writing | 9.3 times per million words | about once in every 1 million words |
Sources: portable and potable in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of portable and potable
portable
- 1
Able to be carried or easily moved
- 2
Clipping of portable toilet
- 3
Able to be transferred from one organization to another
a portable pension plan
- 4
A trailer or other movable structure used for classes at a school
- 5
Of software: able to be run on multiple hardware or operating systems
- 6
Clipping of portable computer
- 7
Of a program: able to be copied directly from one machine to another without the use of an installer
- 8
A hand-held video gaming device
potable
- 1
Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning
potable water
- 2
Any drinkable liquid; a beverage
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, portable or potable?
portable appears 9.3 times per million words; potable about once in every 1 million words.
portable 9.3 times per million wordspotable about once in every 1 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).