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Meaning & use

potable

adjective, noun·Academicformaltechnical

Last updated

UK/ˈpəʊtəbl/
US/ˈpoʊtəbl/

Meanings

  1. adjectivenot comparableformaltechnical

    Clean and safe enough to drink without causing harm.

    Grammar: Often describes water: potable water. It is rarely used with very or more.

    Patterns

    • potable water
    • not potable

    Hikers must carry potable water or a way to purify it.

    The well was tested and found to be potable.

    The sign beside the tap read: not potable.

  2. nounusually pluralold-fashionedhumorous

    A drink, especially an alcoholic one.

    Grammar: Usually appears as potables, often in older or humorous writing.

    Patterns

    • potables and edibles

    The party offered plenty of potables alongside the snacks.

    The host's cellar was full of rare potables.

Common combinations

potable water
The village now has a steady supply of potable water.
not potable
The water in the stream is not potable unless it is boiled.
safe and potable
Engineers checked that the supply was safe and potable.
make water potable
A filter can make river water potable.
potable supply
The emergency camp needed a reliable potable supply.

Synonyms and how they differ

drinkable
Drinkable is the plain everyday word, whereas potable sounds technical and appears in official signs and reports.
safe to drink
Safe to drink is a casual phrase that spells out the meaning, while potable packs it into one formal word.
clean
Clean is a general word and does not guarantee the water is free of harmful germs the way potable does.
fit for consumption
Fit for consumption is formal and covers food as well as drink, while potable applies only to liquids.

Opposites

undrinkablenon-potable

Word family

potability noun
the quality of being safe to drink
potion noun
a liquid with medicinal or magical effects
potation noun
the act of drinking, or a drink
non-potable adjective
not safe to drink

Commonly confused: potable or portable?

potable vs portable

Portable means easy to carry. One letter changes potable, which means safe to drink, into portable, so check the spelling.

Practice

The campsite sign warned that the stream water was not ___ and should be boiled.

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