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competency

/ˈkɑmpɪɾənsi/
/ˈkɒmpɪtənsi/
IPA guide

Other forms: competencies

If you have competency in something, you're well-qualified to do it, whether that's baseball, business management, or underwater basket weaving.

Competency means "capability." Although we use it to mean someone has a sufficient qualification, it comes from the word compete, meaning that someone with competency is good enough to compete with other candidates. If you pass the medical board exams, then you have medical competency. Most jobs require that you show competency, either through certification, or on-the-job performance. If you keep faking injuries to get out of saving people, someone will eventually question your competency as a lifeguard.

Definitions of competency
  1. noun
    the quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually
    synonyms: competence
    see moresee less
    types:
    fitness
    the quality of being qualified
    linguistic competence
    (linguistics) a speaker's implicit, internalized knowledge of the rules of their language (contrasted with linguistic performance)
    proficiency
    the quality of having great facility and competence
    type of:
    ability
    the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘competency'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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