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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

equal.

The same in one or more respects.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈiːkwəl//ˈiːkəl/archaic, dialectal
  1. The same in one or more respects.

    not-comparable · usually
  2. The same in one or more respects. The same in value (status, merit, etc): having or deserving the same rights or treatment.

    not-comparable · usually
    We hold that all men are created equal and are thus equal under the law.
  3. The same in one or more respects. The same in all respects that matter practically; interchangeable, fungible, or (even sometimes) identical for practical purposes.

    not-comparable · usually
    Equal conditions should produce equal results.
    All else being equal, we can expect this factor to have no discernible effect by itself.
  4. The same in one or more respects. Exactly identical, having the same value.

    not-comparable · usually
    All right angles are equal.
  5. Fair, impartial.

    not-comparable · obsolete · usually
  6. Adequate; sufficiently capable or qualified.

    comparable · not-comparable · usually
    This test is pretty tough, but I think I'm equal to it.
  7. Not variable; equable; uniform; even.

    not-comparable · obsolete · usually
    an equal movement
  8. Intended for voices of one kind only, either all male or all female; not mixed.

    not-comparable · usually
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *aikʷos? Old Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin aequālisbor. Middle English equal English equal From Middle English equal, from Latin aequālis. Doublet of aequalis and egal.

verb/ˈiːkwəl//ˈiːkəl/archaic, dialectal
  1. To be equal to, to have the same value as; to correspond to.

    copulative
    Two plus two equals four.
  2. To make equivalent to; to cause to match.

    transitive
    David equaled the water levels of the bottles, so they now both contain exactly 1 liter.
  3. To match in degree or some other quality, to match up to.

    transitive
  4. To have as consequence, to amount to, to mean.

    copulative · informal
    Losing this deal equals losing your job.
    Might does not equal right.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *aikʷos? Old Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin aequālisbor. Middle English equal English equal From Middle English equal, from Latin aequālis. Doublet of aequalis and egal.

noun/ˈiːkwəl//ˈiːkəl/archaic, dialectal
  1. A person or thing of equal status to others.

    countable · uncountable
    We're all equals here.
    This beer has no equal.
  2. State of being equal; equality.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *aikʷos? Old Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin aequālisbor. Middle English equal English equal From Middle English equal, from Latin aequālis. Doublet of aequalis and egal.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.