durable
adjective
Did you know?
Something durable lasts a long time, so it's no surprise that the word comes to us, via Anglo-French, from the Latin verb durare, meaning "to last." Other descendants of durare in English include during, endure, and durance (which now mostly turns up in the phrase "in durance vile," a fancy way of saying "in prison"). Durable even has a near synonym in the much rarer perdurable, which combines durare with the prefix per- (meaning "throughout") to create a word that can mean "lasting a very long time or indefinitely" or "eternal."
Examples of durable in a Sentence
Bethany Braun-Silva, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2024
But don’t just take it from me — these durable, slim portable chargers have over 75,000 five-star ratings at Amazon.
—Asia London Palomba, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
And prices for big-ticket durable items – think autos, furniture and appliances – continue to decline.
—Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 10 Apr. 2024
The categories with the biggest drops over the two months were apparel, down 5.4 percent; fruits and vegetables, down 1.8 percent, and durable commodities (such as televisions, consumer electronics), down 0.6 percent.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2024
This swing can support up to 440 pounds and features a durable steel frame with a waterproof adjustable rope.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 9 Apr. 2024
The procedure has not been approved by regulators in the U.S.
Johns cautioned that titanium bridge surgeries haven’t been consistently effective or durable, with some reports of the devices fracturing, despite being implanted by reputable doctors.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Bamboo can last longer, doesn’t leech chemicals into your food, and can often be more durable than plastic utensils.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
While plastic is not always the most durable of materials, this trash can was built to last.
—Andrea Wurzburger, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'durable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near durable
Cite this Entry
“Durable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/durable. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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durable
adjective
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