noun The quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.
noun The quality or state of being able or suitable for a particular task; the quality or state of being competent for a particular task or skill.
noun The system of linguistic knowledge possessed by native speakers of a language, as opposed to its actual use in concrete situations (performance), cf. linguistic competence.
noun A sustainable income.
noun the legal authority to deal with a matter.
The bill was denied royal assent because the Scottish Parliament does not have legislative competence on the bill's matter.
noun The degree to which a rock is resistant to deformation or flow.
noun ↑ “competence, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.