Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Capable of withstanding wear and tear or decay.
  • adjective Made to withstand repeated use over a relatively long period, usually several years or more.
  • adjective Able to perform or compete over a long period, as by avoiding or overcoming injuries.
  • adjective Lasting; stable.
  • noun A good or product made to withstand repeated use over a relatively long period, usually several years or more.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having the quality of lasting, or continuing long in being; not perishable or changeable; lasting; enduring: as, durable timber; durable cloth; durable happiness.
  • Synonyms Permanent, Stable, etc. (see lasting), abiding, continuing, firm, strong, tough.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Able to endure or continue in a particular condition; lasting; not perishable or changeable; not wearing out or decaying soon; enduring

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Able to resist wear, decay; lasting; enduring.
  • noun economics A durable good, one useful over more than one period, especially a year.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective capable of withstanding wear and tear and decay
  • adjective very long lasting
  • adjective existing for a long time

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dūrābilis, from dūrāre, to last; see deuə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dūrābilis ("lasting, permanent"), from dūrō ("harden, make hard").

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