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# potential

«potential» in Mova's school dictionary: **possible in the future, but not yet real** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (potential); noun (potential — uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) adjective: Potential means possible in the future, but not yet real. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#m1)

2) noun: Potential is the ability or talent that could grow and lead to success. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#m2)

3) (science) Potential energy is energy stored in something because of its position or shape, like a stretched spring or a book on a high shelf. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science: potential energy turns into kinetic (moving) energy when something falls. In school and sport: teachers say a pupil has great potential. In safety: a potential danger. Phrases: potential energy, potential danger, reach your potential, have potential.

### examples

- A ball on a high shelf has potential energy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#x1)
- Wet floors are a potential danger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#x2)
- The coach said she has the potential to be a champion. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#x3)
- They talked to potential buyers of the house. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#x4)
- Work hard to reach your full potential. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#x5)
- The old barn has lots of potential. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/potential/#x6)

### note

Spelling: -tial. Adverb: potentially. In science: the higher something is, the more potential energy it has; when it falls, potential energy becomes kinetic energy.

### In the corpora

- ["Not working to her full potential" is a polite way to say she is lazy.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/16-school-reports/20/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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