gerund or present participle
Meeting the conditions needed to get or do something, or reaching the next stage of a competition.
Qualifying for a student loan can be difficult.
Qualifying for the playoffs was the team's main goal.
American English
How to pronounce qualifying
verb · adjectiveB2Common word
KWAHluhfaiihng
/ˈkʰwɑ.ləˌfaɪ.ɪŋ/
4 syllables · Stress the first syllable.
Form of qualify
As an adjective, qualifying often comes before a noun in phrases such as qualifying round, qualifying race, and qualifying exam.
Meeting the conditions needed to get or do something, or reaching the next stage of a competition.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
gerund or present participle
Completing the training and exams needed to work in a profession.
Qualifying as a nurse took Maya two years.
Qualifying to practice law in California requires passing the bar exam.
gerund or present participle
Adding a condition or detail that makes a statement less strong or less general.
Qualifying a statement can prevent people from misunderstanding it.
She is qualifying her answer by noting that the evidence is limited.
participial adjective
Used for an exam, round, or event that determines whether someone can enter or move to the next stage.
The qualifying round starts on Friday.
She won the qualifying race and entered the final.
Related words & forms
Before -es and -ed, the final y changes to i: qualifies, qualified. Before -ing, it stays y: qualifying.