- having enough skill or knowledge to do something well or to the necessary standard
- He's very competent in his work.
- competent to do something Make sure the firm is competent to carry out the work.
- I don’t feel competent to comment.
- competent at something She is highly competent at her job.
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc1- He was not considered competent to teach seven-year-olds.
- She is competent in five languages.
- He was mentally competent and he had the capacity to decide for himself.
- a small number of highly competent officials
- mentally competent to stand trial
- She's now a highly confident and competent teacher.
- You should keep practising until you're fully competent.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- in
- of a good standard but not very good
- Ron was a competent player—more than that, he was good!
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- in
- having 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’.
Check pronunciation:
competent