Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Qualified or entitled to be chosen.
  • adjective Desirable and worthy of choice, especially for marriage.
  • adjective Football Allowed under the rules to catch a forward pass.
  • noun A person who is eligible.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Fit to be chosen; worthy of choice; desirable: as, an eligible tenant.
  • Qualified to be chosen; legally qualified for election or appointment.
  • noun One who is qualified to be chosen or elected; an eligible person.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective That may be selected; proper or qualified to be chosen; legally qualified to be elected and to hold office.
  • adjective Worthy to be chosen or selected; suitable; desirable.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective suitable; meeting the conditions; worthy of being chosen
  • noun One who is eligible.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective qualified for or allowed or worthy of being chosen

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin ēligibilis, from Latin ēligere, to select; see elect.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French eligible, from Latin eligibilis, from ēligō ("select, choose")

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Examples

  • The term 'eligible beneficiary' means any individual who is an active enrollee in the CLASS program and, as of the date described in subparagraph B

    Forbes.com: News Forbes Blogs 2011

  • "What he's done and what he's done to reclaim his career and seemingly the kind of person that he has become makes him -- I don't even want to use the word eligible -- but you know, it's time," he said.

    CNN.com 2012

  • The benefit is they remain eligible to enter legally in the future whereas those involuntarily deported are subject to a strict ten year bar.

    Page 2 2009

  • April 25, 2009 - Families living in eligible areas of Montgomery County are invited to join the Study.

    National Children's Study 2010

  • The benefit is they remain eligible to enter legally in the future whereas those involuntarily deported are subject to a strict ten year bar.

    Page 2 2009

  • Thanks to Brissenden, his black suit was out of pawn and he was again eligible for dinner parties.

    Chapter 37 2010

  • But recently, city officials have been concerned whether Mr. Smith's group would be able to meet a year-end deadline to remain eligible for the $20 million of federally backed financing.

    Hotel Plan Questioned Joseph De Avila 2010

  • April 25, 2009 - Families living in eligible areas of Montgomery County are invited to join the Study.

    National Children's Study 2010

  • The Recovery Act allowed investors to exclude 75% of their profits if they invested in eligible small businesses between mid-February 2009 and the end of this year.

    For New Tax Breaks, Act Fast Emily Maltby 2010

  • Fredrik Wentzel (Almtuna) — Second-year eligible is a classic late bloomer who has come out of nowhere and continued to impress us by taking Almtuna to the Swedish Elite League qualifying round, posting great numbers.

    After top prospects Hall, Seguin, draft will be one giant jumble 2010

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