Notable
adj, noun ·Common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 A person or thing of distinction.
"July 16 1875, Carl Schurz, letter to W. M. Grosvenor What we ought to have, in my opinion, is a meeting of notables—men whose names will be of weight with the country and who can be depended upon to agree to an independent course."
- 2 a celebrity who is an inspiration to others wordnet
- 1 Worthy of note; remarkable; memorable; noted or distinguished.
"[...] how sayest thou, that my master is become a notable lover?"
- 2 Easily noted (without connotations of value); clearly noticeable, conspicuous.
"A notable lubber, as thou reportest him to be."
- 3 That can be observed; perceptible.
"Dyslexia is most notable in children who are unable to focus on their assignments."
- 4 Industrious, energetic; (specifically) (usually of a woman) capable, efficient in household management. archaic
"During his residence abroad, his concerns at home were managed by his mother Hester, an active and notable woman."
- 5 Useful; profitable. obsolete
"Your honourable Uncle Sir Robert Manſell, who is now in the Mediterranean, hath been very notable to me, and I ſhall ever acknowledge a good part of my education from him."
- 1 widely known and esteemed wordnet
- 2 worthy of attention wordnet
Example
More examples"Chemistry has made notable progress in recent years."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English notable (“worthy of note, profitable, useful”), in some senses from Anglo-Norman notable (“noteworthy”), from Latin notābilis (“noteworthy, extraordinary”), from notō (“to note, mark”); in some senses from Middle English note (“benefit, profit, use, advantage”), from Old English notu (“t-use, profit, advantage, employment”) + -able; equivalent to note + -able. Compare English noteful (“useful”).
Related phrases
More for "notable"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.