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qualify

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verb American English pronunciation: qualify /ˈkwɑləˌfaɪ/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theyqualify
he/she/itqualifies
present participlequalifying
past tensequalified
past participlequalified
 
  1. 1
    [intransitive] to have the right qualities or be in the right situation to be considered as something or to receive or do something
    be qualified to do something:

    Only people over the age of 18 are qualified to vote.

    qualify as:

    90% of the boat people did not qualify as refugees.

    qualify for:

    To qualify for Olympic status, a sport must be played in 50 countries and on three continents.

    qualify for a discount/benefit/grant (=have the right to receive one):

    You may qualify for a study grant.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of qualify
    1. a.
      [transitive] to make it possible for someone to be considered as something or to receive or do something
      qualify someone for something:

      Her income was too high to qualify her for food stamps.

      qualify someone to do something:

      The fact that his grandparents were Irish qualified him to play in the Irish national team.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of qualify
  2. 2
    [intransitive] to become a member of a particular profession after a period of training or study
    fully/newly/properly qualified:

    a fully qualified ski instructor

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of qualify
    1. a.
      [transitive] to give someone the skills that they need to become a member of a particular profession
      qualify someone to do something:

      It is the only course in the country that qualifies you to become a scuba instructor.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of qualify
  3. 3
    [intransitive] to reach a particular stage of a competition by competing successfully in an earlier stage

    It would be incredible if Brazil failed to qualify.

    qualify for:

    What are your team's chances of qualifying for the finals?

    a qualifying game/tournament/round (=one that you need to win to go on to the next stage of a competition):

    Mexico's World Cup qualifying match against Canada

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of qualify
    1. a.
      to make it possible for a person or team to go on to the next stage of a competition
      qualify someone for something:

      Anke Huber defeated Mana Endo of Japan to qualify Germany for the second round of the World Group Fed Cup.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of qualify
  4. 4
    [transitive] to add something to a statement in order to change it slightly or state the situations in which it is not true

    I should qualify the diagnosis by saying that your condition may improve with diet alone.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of qualify

This is the American English definition of qualify. View British English definition of qualify.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

View the pronunciation for qualify.

 

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