- 1having enough skill or knowledge to do something well or to the necessary standard Make sure the firm is competent to carry out the work. He's very competent in his work. I don’t feel competent to comment. opposite incompetent Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … prepositionin See full entry See related entries: Clever, Job skills and personal qualities
- 2of a good standard but not very good Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … prepositionin See full entry
- 3having the power to decide something The case was referred to a competent authority. Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘suitable, adequate’): from Latin competent-, from the verb competere in its earlier sense ‘be fit or proper’, from com- ‘together’ + petere ‘aim at, seek’.Extra examples He was not considered competent to teach seven-year-olds. She is competent in five languages. She was mentally competent and she had the capacity to decide for herself. a small number of highly competent officials mentally competent to stand trial He’s very competent in all his work. I don’t feel competent to comment. Make sure the builders are competent to carry out the work. Ron was a competent player—more than that, he was good! She’s now a highly confident and competent teacher. You should keep practising until you’re fully competent.
competent
adjectiveBrE BrE//ˈkɒmpɪtənt//; NAmE NAmE//ˈkɑːmpɪtənt//
competent (to do something) Clever, Job skills and personal qualitiesCheck pronunciation: competent
