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# enable

verb (enable, enables, enabled, enabling)

«enable» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To enable means to make it possible for someone or something to do something. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#m1)
2. To enable a setting on a computer or phone means to turn it on. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#m2)
3. (informal, disapproving) To enable someone can mean to help them keep doing something bad for them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science and technology: lungs enable us to breathe; enable location on a tablet. In formal writing and exam questions: "This enables us to find the area." Phrases: enable someone to do, enable cookies, enabled by.

### Examples

- Glasses enable my grandad to read. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#x1)
- Wings enable birds to fly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#x2)
- Enable Bluetooth to connect the speaker. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#x3)
- The ramp enables wheelchair users to get in. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#x4)
- Knowing the length and width enables you to find the area. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#x5)
- Money from the fair enabled the school to buy books. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#x6)
- “But 'tis the air which enables thee to breathe,” said the poet's voice. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/#x7)

### Note

Pattern: enable someone/something to + verb. Opposite: disable (turn off; stop working). Adjective: enabled. It is a little formal; in everyday talk say "let" or "help".

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «enable» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/enable/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«enable» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/enable.html) on Mova free.