bruikbare

Bruikbare is a Dutch adjective meaning usable or fit for use. It describes objects, ideas, or arrangements that can serve their intended function without requiring major repairs or alterations. In everyday language, it often signals practical usefulness rather than perfection.

The base form of the word is bruikbaar; bruikbare is the attributive form used before a noun (for example, een bruikbare oplossing, bruikbare spullen). In predicate position, the form is bruikbaar rather than bruikbare (Het apparaat is bruikbaar). The word is formed from the root bruik (use) combined with the suffix -baar, which denotes capability.

Usability is a central sense of bruikbaar, and the term is widely used across contexts such as consumer goods, engineering, and information technology. In recycling and waste management, items described as bruikbare goederen are those that can be reused rather than discarded. In design and product development, bruikbaarheid or usability refers to how easily a product can be used, understood, and maintained by the intended user. The noun bruikbaarheid corresponds to the English “usability” or “usefulness,” depending on context, while bruikbaarheidsanalyse or bruikbaarheidsstudie may appear in technical or academic writings to discuss how usable something is.

Related terms include bruikbaarheid (usability/usefulness), bruikbaarheidsbeoordeling (usability assessment), and synomyms such as functioneel (functional) when emphasizing practical operation. The concept is common in Dutch, with subtle distinctions between general usefulness (bruikbaar) and broader usability in design, engineering, and logistics.