1 [mass noun] the ability to do something successfully or efficiently:courses to improve the competence of staffthe players displayed varying degrees of competence
the legal authority of a court or other body to deal with a particular matter:the court’s competence has been accepted to cover these matters
(also linguistic or language competence) Linguistics a person’s subconscious knowledge of the rules governing the formation of speech in their first language.Often contrasted with performance.
Biology & Medicine effective performance of the normal function.
2 dated an income large enough to live on, typically an unearned one:he found himself with an ample competence and no obligations
