Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

competent

/ˈkɑmpətɪnt/

Press play to hear how to pronounce competent.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does competent mean?

adjective

  1. Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications.
  2. Having jurisdiction or authority over a particular issue or question.
  3. Adequate for the purpose.
More meanings (3)

adjective

  1. Functionally in order; functioning adequately.
  2. Permeable to foreign DNA.
  3. Resistant to deformation or flow.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈkɑmpətɪnt/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

An ordinary degree of vigilance would be competent to the prevention of any material infractions upon the rights of the revenue.
Alexander Hamilton; John Jay; James MadisonThe Federalist PapersProject Gutenberg ebook #18
The world knows there was but one man on the planet at the time who was competent—not a dozen, and not two.
Mark TwainWhat Is Man? and Other EssaysProject Gutenberg ebook #70
More book examples (3)
A certain mysteriousness hangs around the quality of speed as it was displayed by the old sailing-ships commanded by a competent seaman.
Joseph ConradThe Mirror of the SeaProject Gutenberg ebook #1058
Turning now to the authorities, we find this to be the accepted theory of many of those competent to form an opinion.
Emory Adams AllenThe Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished RacesProject Gutenberg ebook #2873
This confusion may seem too gross to have been really committed by any competent philosopher, but various attendant circumstances rendered it possible.
Bertrand RussellThe Problems of PhilosophyProject Gutenberg ebook #5827