possibility

UK/ˌpɒs.ɪˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/US/ˌpɑ.səˈbɪl.ə.ti/

nounA2+3 meanings Very common — you will meet it every day · #1,500 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: possibilities

A possibility is something that could happen but has not. Rain by the afternoon, a train delayed at Crewe, a job that might come up in the spring — each one is a possibility until it either happens or does not.

The grammar is where learners slip. It is the possibility OF doing something, or the possibility THAT something will happen; never the possibility to do. And a possibility is not an opportunity: if a friend offers you a free ticket, you have the chance to go, not the possibility to go. Ready-made phrases cluster around it — there is a strong possibility, a remote possibility, we cannot rule out the possibility. In the plural it turns hopeful and means untapped potential: the flat is small but it has possibilities, the possibilities are endless.

Definitions of possibility

1nounpossibilitySomething that might happen or might be true.A2+~51%
“There is a real possibility that the meeting will be cancelled.”
synonyms: chance, likelihood
2nounfactThe fact that something is able to happen.B1~47%
“Nobody had even considered the possibility of a second flood.”
3nounpotentialPotential that has not been used yet.B1~2%
“The garden is a mess, but it has possibilities.”

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 21 sentences found in the wild and placed 21 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.

Where it comes from

Possibility came into Middle English as possibilite, both from Middle French possibilité and straight from Latin possibilitās, which was built on possibilis, possible. The English word and the plain adjective possible are the same idea, one dressed for a report.

Latin
possibilitās — possibility
Old French
possibilite
Middle French
possibilité
Middle English
possibilite
English, today
possibility

From Middle English possibilite, from Middle French possibilité (from Old French possibilite) and directly from Latin possibilitās (“possibility”), from Latin possibilis (“possible”); see possible. by surface analysis, possible + -ity.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Big Ideas, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 15 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

possibility in the wild

Modal logic is a kind of logic used to represent statements about necessity and possibility.
Modal logic
The logical possibility of a proposition will depend upon the system of logic being considered, rather than on the violation of any single rule.
Logical possibility
Indeed, it is often assumed that the mere possibility of motive is evidence enough.
Appeal to motive
The core reason for this is it leaves the maximum possible bidding space in which to explore the possibility of a slam.
Useful space principle
But plaintiffs may also use it offensively, too, to deny the defendant the possibility to raise other defences.
Clean hands doctrine

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

Definitions of possibility

1nounpossibilitySomething that might happen or might be true.A2+~51%

“There is a real possibility that the meeting will be cancelled.”

synonyms: chance, likelihood

2nounfactThe fact that something is able to happen.B1~47%

“Nobody had even considered the possibility of a second flood.”

3nounpotentialPotential that has not been used yet.B1~2%

“The garden is a mess, but it has possibilities.”

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 21 sentences found in the wild and placed 21 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.