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tangible

/ˈtændʒəbl//ˈtændʒəbl/·adjective
able to be touched; real, concrete, and definite
Fig. 1 — I watch a traveller stand in a sunny old street, a real paper map open in his hands.
01Definition

Tangible comes from the Latin tangere, 'to touch', and keeps the hand in every use: tangible assets can be inventoried, tangible progress can be pointed at, tangible benefits show up where everyone can see them. The word draws the line between what exists in talk and what exists in the world — plans are intangible until results make them tangible. Even used abstractly ('a tangible sense of relief'), it means: so real you could almost hold it.

02In use
  • iAfter months of ambiguous signals, the negotiations finally produced tangible results: three signed agreements.
  • iiInvestors prefer tangible assets to even the most elaborate promises of future growth.
  • iiiThere was a tangible tension in the room before the results were announced.
03Collocations
  • tangible benefits
  • tangible results
  • tangible assets
  • a tangible sense of

Family tangibility (noun) · tangibly (adverb) · intangible (adjective)

04Relations

=concrete, palpable, real, physical, measurable

≠intangible, abstract, imaginary, virtual

05Compared
PairThe difference
tangible vs virtualreal, with substance you can touch → tangible; the function without the substance → virtual.
06TOEFL & IELTS

An IELTS Writing Task 2 workhorse: 'tangible benefits/results/progress' turns vague claims into examiner-pleasing precision. TOEFL passages contrast tangible and intangible cultural heritage — UNESCO's actual terminology. The antonym 'intangible' is tested just as often; learn the pair and the legal phrase 'tangible property'.

07Asked
What is the difference between tangible and intangible?
Tangible things can be touched or pointed at — buildings, cash, signed agreements; intangible things are real but not physical — reputation, goodwill, morale, a brand. The line runs through accounting (tangible assets you can inventory versus intangible ones like patents) and through argument: plans stay intangible until results make them tangible. If you can put a hand on it or point to hard proof, it is tangible.
What does tangible mean?
Able to be touched — and, by extension, real, concrete and definite. From Latin tangere, 'to touch', it keeps the hand in every use: tangible progress can be pointed at, tangible benefits show up where everyone sees them. Even abstractly ('a tangible sense of relief') it means so real you could almost hold it. The scene above is tangible made plain — a paper map with weight, wind and sun, the city in the flesh.
What are tangible assets?
Physical things a business owns and can inventory — buildings, machinery, stock, cash. Accountants set them against intangible assets (patents, trademarks, goodwill), which have value but no substance, and the two are treated differently on the books: tangible assets depreciate as they wear out, intangible ones amortise. The test is the word's plain one — a tangible asset is the kind you could walk up and touch.
Is tangible the opposite of virtual?
In one sense yes — the physical against the simulated — and that particular contrast is drawn on the tangible vs virtual page in the 'Compared' list above.
What does 'tangible results' mean?
Outcomes solid enough to point at — signed deals, finished buildings, numbers that moved — as opposed to vague promises or good intentions. The phrase is a favourite in reports and essays because it demands proof: 'tangible results' converts a claim of progress into something a reader can verify. Its power is the contrast built in — it quietly asks what the intangible alternative was hiding.