eligible
adjective
el·i·gi·ble
| \ ˈe-lə-jə-bəl
\
\
Definition of eligible
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: qualified to participate or be chosen
eligible to retire
b
: permitted under football rules to catch a forward pass
2
: worthy of being chosen
an eligible young bachelor
eligible
noun
plural eligibles
Definition of eligible (Entry 2 of 2)
: a person or thing that is qualified or permitted to do or be something : one that is eligible for something
As with the College of Cardinals and the papacy, where every cardinal, in theory, is eligible to be Pope but the number of real eligibles is substantially smaller, so with the American Presidency.— Stephen R. Graubard … when she entered life, beautiful, accomplished, and an heiress, she had, of course, all the eligibles … of the other sex sighing at her feet …— Harriet Beecher Stowe
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Other Words from eligible
Adjective
eligibility
\ ˌe-lə-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē
\
noun
\
noun
eligibly
\ ˈe-lə-jə-blē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of eligible in a Sentence
Adjective
… more than six years since the fall of the Taliban, fewer than 30% of eligible girls are enrolled in schools, and the infrastructure is so poor that only a tiny fraction are likely to get the education they need to enjoy the fruits of emancipation. — Aryn Baker, Time, 28 Jan. 2008 She wanted to start her own family. She was twenty-six and without prospects. At church her mother prayed, and at Crystal Nail, where she lacquered and lengthened, her mother asked customers about eligible young men. She kept Li En's graduation photo mounted in the right corner of her mirror, so that every customer would see her daughter, diploma in hand. — Max Apple, Atlantic, November 2003 I'd like to join but I'm not eligible yet.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The funding was intended to expand the program to borrowers who were otherwise eligible but had other types of federal student loans. — Collin Binkley, chicagotribune.com, "Thousands rejected from student loan forgiveness program over confusing rules, report finds," 5 Sep. 2019 That’s a huge jump, but still a tiny drop in the bucket given that San Jose estimates more than 100,000 homeowners are eligible to add similar units. — Ryan Kost, SFChronicle.com, "Give them your backyard and a new startup will install a tiny house and then rent it out," 4 Sep. 2019 App-users will be eligible to attend concerts such as: Lukas Graham, Gloria Trevi ft. — Taylor Mims, Billboard, "Tinder, Live Nation to Offer Concert Tickets For Dating App Users," 3 Sep. 2019 However, there’s no word if the moose is eligible to be on the field when UND takes on the North Dakota State Bison later this week. — Sydney Mook, Twin Cities, "Watch: Moose runs loose on University of North Dakota football field," 3 Sep. 2019 Those with upcoming travel plans in the region are eligible to change their flights without the usual penalties under airline travel waivers in place since last week. — Editors, USA TODAY, "Dorian's continued havoc, California boat fire, Brexit vote: 5 things to know Tuesday," 3 Sep. 2019 Meanwhile, in a boost for the democracy movement, a court decided that Demosisto activist Agnes Chow, 22, was eligible to stand for election to the enclave’s legislature. — Time Staff, Time, "Students Boycott Classes on the First Day of the School Year in Hong Kong's Latest Democracy Protest," 2 Sep. 2019 This year’s dividend is expected to be $1,580 per eligible Alaskan, and much of the money needed to pay that dividend was scheduled to be transferred from the fund to the state treasury Friday. — James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, "Permanent Fund grows in first year of new system despite spending billions on state services and dividend," 8 Sep. 2019 Brown will be an unrestricted free agent and eligible to sign with any team at 1 p.m. PT Saturday. — oregonlive, "Oakland Raiders release Antonio Brown after tumultuous tenure," 7 Sep. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Voucher programs, meanwhile, don’t have the funding to cover every household that’s eligible based on income. — oregonlive, "Rep. Earl Blumenauer outlines plan to boost federal housing spending, reform mortgage interest deduction," 6 Sep. 2019 Pillar is arbitration-eligible this offseason and from the time he was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in April, there was speculation as to whether the Giants might trade him in July or non-tender him this offseason. — Kerry Crowley, The Mercury News, "Kevin Pillar’s year with Giants can prove value of ‘eye test’ this offseason," 3 Sep. 2019 More than 80% of students in Adams County School District 14 are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, so the district covers meals for all students, said Kasja Larson, manager of nutrition services. — Meg Wingerter, The Denver Post, "Proposed federal rule would end food assistance for 33,000 in Colorado," 19 Aug. 2019 In New York's Southampton, for instance, a boundary line has been shifted slightly to make a nearly $18 million beachfront home and another property eligible for aid. — Dave Collins, courant.com, "Could coastal mansions in Connecticut become eligible for disaster aid?," 22 July 2019 The software will let eligible users live-stream to a new subreddit called r/pan. — Julia Alexander, The Verge, "Reddit launches five-day live-streaming test," 19 Aug. 2019 Yes, anyone in the organization as of Aug. 31, anywhere in the organization, is playoff eligible. — Susan Slusser, SFChronicle.com, "A’s Mailbag: Dustin Garneau’s future, potential pitching moves and more," 12 Aug. 2019 Junior cornerback Noah Igbinoghene is also draft-eligible after the 2019 season. — Josh Bean | Jbean@al.com, al, "Auburn gets commitment from 4-star DB who also considered Alabama," 3 Aug. 2019 The immediate reset could be a trade of guard Goran Dragic, who, by opting into his $19.2 million for next season, on the final year on his contract, has become trade eligible. — Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, "Unpredictability again enters into Heat’s NBA draft equation," 19 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eligible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for eligible
eligible
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of eligible
: able to be chosen for something : able to do or receive something
: suitable and desirable for marriage
See the full definition for eligible in the English Language Learners Dictionary
eligible
adjective
el·i·gi·ble
| \ ˈe-li-jə-bəl
\
\
Kids Definition of eligible
: qualified to be chosen, to participate, or to receive
You're eligible for a loan.
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