# competence

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkɒm.pə.təns/ · frequency rank #13,307

## Definitions
1. The quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.
2. The quality or state of being able or suitable for a particular task; the quality or state of being competent for a particular task or skill.
3. The system of linguistic knowledge possessed by native speakers of a language, as opposed to its actual use in concrete situations (performance), cf. linguistic competence.
4. A sustainable income.
5. the legal authority to deal with a matter.
6. The degree to which a rock is resistant to deformation or flow.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French compétence, from Late Latin competentia. Doublet of competency.

## Easily confused with
- **competent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/competence-vs-competent)
- **competency** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/competence-vs-competency)

## Common misspellings (16)
`ccompetence`, `cmopetence`, `comeptence`, `commpetence`, `compeetnce`, `competance`, `competecne`, `competencce`, `competenec`, `competennce`, `competnece`, `compettence`, `comppetence`, `compteence`, `copmetence`, `ocmpetence`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/competence