Meaning & use
contactable
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Able to be reached or communicated with, especially by phone, email, or in person.
Grammar: Describes a person or place; most often follows be or another linking verb, as in "He is contactable."
Patterns
- be contactable by something
- be contactable at something
- be contactable on a number
- be contactable for a period
The manager is contactable by phone until nine o'clock every evening.
Please make sure you are contactable while you are traveling for work.
The doctor was not contactable at the weekend, so we called the emergency line.
adjectivenot comparable
Available to be reached for a particular purpose, such as an emergency or an interview.
Grammar: Often followed by for plus a noun: contactable for comment, contactable for interview.
Patterns
- be contactable for something
- remain contactable
- keep someone contactable
The company said its press office would remain contactable throughout the holiday.
All staff should be contactable for emergencies, even on days off.
Keep your phone charged so you stay contactable for the delivery driver.
Common combinations
- be contactable by phone
- I'm contactable by phone all day, so just call if anything changes.
- be contactable at this number
- She's contactable at this number until Friday.
- remain contactable
- The team will remain contactable during the storm.
- easily contactable
- The support staff are easily contactable through the app.
- not contactable
- He was not contactable when the news broke.
- contactable for comment
- The minister was not contactable for comment last night.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reachable
- Very close in meaning, but reachable is more common for places and things, while contactable is used mostly for people you can phone or message.
- available
- Means free to talk or meet; it does not say how you can reach the person, so contactable is more specific about communication.
- accessible
- Often suggests that a place or service is easy to enter or use, not that a person can be reached by phone.
Opposites
Word family
- contact verb
- To get in touch with someone, usually by phone, email, or letter.
- contact noun
- A person you know who can help you, or the act of communicating with someone.
- contactless adjective
- Describing payment or technology that works without touching, not related to reaching people.
Commonly confused: contactable or contagious? contactable or contactable vs. contactable?
contactable vs contagious
Sounds similar but means a disease can spread from person to person. "Contactable" is about being reachable, not about illness.
contactable vs contactable vs. contactable
Learners sometimes write "contactible" with an i; the correct spelling keeps the a from contact: contactable.
Practice
Which sentence uses "contactable" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Contactable" describes a person who can be reached, so "you are contactable by phone" fits. Option 0 is wrong because contactable is not used for places that can only be reached physically; reachable or accessible would be better. Option 2 treats it as a describing word for a smile, which it never is, and option 3 uses it as a verb, but it is only an adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contactable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.