possible

comparative more possible · superlative most possible

1. not comparableusuallyAble but not certain to happen; neither inevitable nor impossible.

   Rain tomorrow is possible, but I wouldn't bet on it.

   3 more examples

   It's not just possible, it's probable that there will be rain tomorrow.

   The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

   In short, the Leninist-Stalinist version of socialism was a possible interpretation, though certainly not the only possible one, of Marx's doctrine.

   1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 418

   Synonyms: futurable · Antonyms: certain, inevitable, impossible

2. comparableCapable of being done or achieved; feasible.

   It's possible for anyone to learn to play the bagpipes.

   3 more examples

   And success in minor degree, in the sense in which he uses the term "success," is only somewhat more possible than success in winning the White House chair.

   1901, Louis Freeland Smith, The Public, volume 4, page 438

   Peace between Israel and the Arab countries is "more possible than any time before," says ex-Arab League U.N. ambassador Clovis Maskoud.

   1993 September 10, Lee Michael Katz, “Expectant Mideast hopes to bear twin peace deals”, in USA Today, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2013, page 2A

   Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.

   2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3

   Synonyms: achievable, doable, viable · Antonyms: impossible

3. Being considered, e.g. for a position.

   Jones and Smith are both possible for the opening in sales.

4. Apparently valid, likely, plausible.

   Synonyms: likely, plausible · Antonyms: implausible

plural possibles

1. colloquialrareA possible choice, notably someone being considered for a position.

   Jones is a possible for the new opening in sales.

   Synonyms: candidate

2. colloquialrareThat which is possible for somebody.

   […] “don’t you be in any great hurry after that treasure.” “Why, sir, I do my possible, which that ain’t,” said Silver. “I can only, asking your pardon, save my life and the boy’s by seeking for that treasure; and you may lay to that.”

   1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC

3. rareA particular event that may happen.