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# possible

«possible» in Mova's school dictionary: **it can happen or can be done** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (possible)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Possible means it can happen or can be done. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#m1)

2) «As soon as possible» means as soon as you can. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#m2)

3) «The best possible» means the best there can be. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In school maths: in chance and counting problems — things that can happen; «how many are possible», «as many as possible», «the largest possible number». In science: making possible ideas (predictions) and testing them. In everyday life: «Is it possible to...?», «if possible». Phrases: «as soon as possible», «as much as possible», «if possible», «impossible» (the opposite).

### examples

- How many different pairs are possible? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x1)
- Make the largest possible number with 3, 5 and 1. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x2)
- Is it possible to share 7 sweets equally between 2? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x3)
- Pack as many boxes as possible. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x4)
- Is it possible to visit the Moon? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x5)
- Please reply as soon as possible. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x6)
- With practice, anything is possible. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x7)
- It is possible that it will snow tonight. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x8)
- "Is it possible to catch them?" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/#x9)

### note

Opposite: «impossible». «Possibly» means maybe. Maths: asks to count all ways or find a best value. Trap: «as many as possible» usually means drop the remainder (whole boxes only).

### In the corpora

- [Banks use AI to spot unusual spending and block possible fraud; sometimes a real payment is blocked by mistake.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/19-ai-in-one-ordinary-day/7/)
- [«it is quite against animal-etiquette to dwell on possible trouble ahead» — etiquette = the rules of polite behaviour.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/26-willows-ch1-part2-the-river-and-the-wild-wood/28/)
- [When a text does not give a reason, a good reader can say what is possible but does not claim it is certain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/60-olympiad-tricky-comprehension/16/)
- [Children under about 12 or 13 sit in the back seat where possible, because front airbags open with great force.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/268-in-the-car-and-seat-belts/15/)
- [A late library book is returned as soon as possible, because some libraries charge fines.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/273-shops-restaurants-and-libraries/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «possible» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possible/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.