durable
adjective
du·ra·ble
ˈdu̇r-ə-bəl
also ˈdyu̇r-
: able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration in quality or value
a durable suitcase
also
: designed to be durable
durable goods
Did you know?
Something durable lasts a long time, so it's apt that durable comes to us (via Anglo-French) from the Latin verb durare, meaning "to last." Other descendants of durare in English include during, endure, and duration, all of which concern things lasting in one way or another. Durable even has a near synonym in the much rarer perdurable, which combines durare with the prefix per- (meaning "throughout") to create a word that can mean "lasting a very long time or indefinitely" or "eternal."
Cite this Entry
“Durable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/durable. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.
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