# competence

/ˈkɑmpətɪns/ (US) · /kˈɒmpɪtəns/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/competence
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. ability or skill

noun · CEFR B2

the ability to do a job or a task to a required standard.

For teachers: the quality or state of being functionally adequate or having sufficient knowledge and skill for a particular purpose.

- The manager questioned his competence after he made several basic mistakes in the report.
- The certification process is designed to ensure that all practitioners reach a minimum level of professional competence before they are allowed to work independently.

### 2. legal authority

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal · Technical

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

For teachers: 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.

### 3. linguistic knowledge

noun · CEFR C2 · Academic · Technical

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

For teachers: 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.

### 4. rock resistance

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

how much a rock can resist changing shape under pressure.

For teachers: 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.

### 5. sufficient income

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

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

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- The manager questioned his competence after the project failed.
- The new certification program ensures that all employees reach a minimum level of technical competence before working on-site.
- While the candidate possessed impressive academic credentials, the board remained skeptical regarding her practical competence in managing a large-scale international workforce during a period of economic instability.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.