Meaning & use
durability
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Meanings
noununcountable
the quality of lasting a long time without breaking or wearing out
Grammar: Uncountable: talk about 'the durability of something', never 'a durability'.
Patterns
- the durability of something
- high/low durability
- improve/test durability
The durability of these boots makes them worth the higher price.
Engineers tested the durability of the new material under extreme heat.
Customers often ask about the durability of the battery before they buy.
noununcountablefigurative
the ability of something such as an agreement or system to continue for a long time
Grammar: Used about ideas, peace, relationships, and systems, not physical objects.
Patterns
- the durability of an agreement
- long-term durability
Few people believed in the durability of the peace deal.
The durability of the friendship surprised everyone who knew them.
Common combinations
- high durability
- The phone's high durability means it survives drops and scratches.
- durability test
- Every model goes through a durability test before it is sold.
- the durability of something
- Scientists studied the durability of the coating in salt water.
- improve durability
- Adding carbon fibers can improve the durability of the frame.
- long-term durability
- Buyers care about the long-term durability of the roof.
Synonyms and how they differ
- toughness
- Toughness stresses resistance to damage or rough treatment, while durability stresses lasting a long time.
- reliability
- Reliability is about working correctly without failing, not about physical wear.
- longevity
- Longevity is more formal and often about life span or how long something remains popular.
Opposites
Word family
- durable adjective
- Able to last a long time without damage.
- durably adverb
- In a way that lasts a long time.
Commonly confused: durability or endurance?
durability vs endurance
Endurance is about lasting through effort, pain, or difficulty, often for people; durability is about objects or materials.
Practice
The engineers were impressed by the ___ of the bridge after fifty years of heavy traffic.
Choose one answer.
The noun 'durability' fits after 'the' and before 'of'. 'Durable' is an adjective and cannot follow 'the'; 'endurance' usually applies to people or effort, not a bridge.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “durability”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.