competence

C1 · Advanced Uncountable noun Law Formal · Technical

n. the legal power of a court or person to deal with a specific matter.

n. the legal authority or jurisdiction of a court, person, or institution to adjudicate or take action in a specific area.

“The local court does not have the competence to decide on international trade disputes.”

“The defense argued that the tribunal lacked the legal competence to hear the case, as the alleged incidents occurred outside its geographical jurisdiction.”

C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Linguistics Academic · Technical

n. the natural knowledge a person has of their own language's rules.

n. the internalized system of linguistic knowledge possessed by native speakers, distinguished from 'performance' or actual speech.

“Even if you make a mistake while tired, your underlying linguistic competence remains the same.”

“Chomsky's distinction between competence and performance suggests that a speaker's occasional slips of the tongue do not reflect a lack of grammatical knowledge.”

C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Science Technical

n. how much a rock can resist changing shape under pressure.

n. the degree to which a rock or mineral layer is resistant to deformation or flow under tectonic stress.

“The competence of the granite layer meant it cracked rather than folded under the pressure.”

“Variations in rock competence across the strata resulted in complex folding patterns during the mountain-building event.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Archaic · Literary

n. an amount of money or income that is enough to live on comfortably.

n. a sufficient income or fortune to provide the necessities and comforts of life without manual labour.

“He inherited a modest competence from his uncle, allowing him to retire to the countryside.”

“In nineteenth-century novels, a character's primary goal was often to secure a competence through marriage or inheritance to ensure social standing.”