Audible

How to spell audible

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce audible

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does audible mean?

1. adjectiveAble to be heard; loud or clear enough to perceive with the ear.

Audible in a sentence

• Her voice was barely audible over the noise of the engine.

• A faint but audible hum came from the old refrigerator.

Where does audible come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Late Latin audibilis, meaning 'able to be heard', which was built on the verb audire, 'to hear'. That same root sits inside a whole family of listening words, including 'audio', 'audience' (originally a group gathered to hear someone), 'audition', and 'auditorium', so spotting the 'aud' element is a reliable memory anchor. English took the word in during the late 1500s, often through French forms, with the meaning it still carries: loud enough or clear enough to be perceived by the ear. The chief spelling trap is the ending: because the root verb is Latin (audire), the word takes '-ible' rather than '-able', so it is 'audible' and never 'audable'.

How the word is built

• aud- (from Latin audire: to hear)
• -ible (capable of being)