capability
/ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: capabilities
Sense 1
Meaning · English
The power or ability to generate an outcome.
Noun
Examples
And that sight will become more common in the coming years, as the city’s police pursue an ambitious campaign to install thousands of cameras to elevate their surveillance capabilities.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).
Sense 2
Meaning · English
A digital token allowing a user or process to interact in a specified way with an object that is subject to access control.
Noun
Examples
A file descriptor can be considered a capability that can only be leveraged using the appropriate system calls, passing it as an argument.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “capability” mean?
The power or ability to generate an outcome.
Is “capability” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.