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PlainSpell

able

/ˈeɪ.bl̩/adjective, verb, noun

able is spelled A-B-L-E: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 269 times per million words in written English, the 356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, able means “Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in able?

Letters4: A-B-L-E
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing269 times per million words; the 356th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is able?

Able appears 269 times per million words in written English, the 356th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce able?

  • US /ˈeɪ.bl̩/
  • US [ˈeɪ̯.bɫ̩]
  • [ˈeɪ̯.bw]

Able has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-able.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl--able.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with able

Sounds like: Abel (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with able?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as able (/eɪbl/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: bale, beal, bael, albe.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of able

  • abler comparative
  • ablest superlative
  • ables present, singular, he/she/it
  • abling participle, present
  • abled participle, past
  • more -able comparative
  • most -able superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does able mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.

    She is able to lift the box without assistance.

  2. 2

    Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from.

    In a democratic world you'd be able to say what you thought wherever you were.

  3. 3

    Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence.

    The chairman was also an able sailor.

  4. 4

    Legally qualified or competent.

    He is able to practice law in six states.

  5. 5

    Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman.

  6. 6

    obsoleteHaving the physical strength; robust; healthy.

    After the past week of forced marches, only half the men are fully able.

  7. 7

    obsoleteEasy to use.

  8. 8

    obsoleteSuitable; competent.

verb

  1. 1

    obsoleteTo make ready.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo make capable; to enable.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo dress.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo give power to; to reinforce; to confirm.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo vouch for; to guarantee.

  6. 6

    present participle and gerund of can (a form of can)

    I might be able to go.

noun

  1. 1

    The letter "A" in Navy Phonetic Alphabet.

noun

as Able
  1. 1

    radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter A.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Able in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcapable (permitted to), expérimenté (skillful), habilité (legally qualified), -able, -ible (able or fit to be done)
Germanimstande, fähig (permitted to), tüchtig (skillful), kompetent (legally qualified), -bar, -abel (able or fit to be done)
Portuguesepossível, permitido (permitted to), capaz, hábil (skillful), competente (legally qualified), -ável (able or fit to be done)
Spanishcapaz, podiente (permitted to), diestro, hábil (skillful), competente (legally qualified), -able (able or fit to be done)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does able come from?

From Middle English able, from Old Northern French able, variant of Old French abile, habile, from Latin habilis (“easily managed, held, or handled; apt; skillful”). Doublet of habile.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after able