Inhabitable means suitable for people to live in. An inhabitable house has working plumbing, electricity, and protection from weather. An inhabitable planet has air to breathe, water to drink, and temperatures that humans can survive.

Here's where this word gets tricky: it sounds like it should mean the opposite of what it actually means. You might think “inhabitable” means “not able to be inhabited,” but that's wrong. The word that means unsuitable for living is uninhabitable. So an inhabitable apartment is one you can live in, while an uninhabitable apartment (perhaps with a collapsed roof or toxic mold) is one you cannot.

Scientists searching for life beyond Earth look for inhabitable planets: worlds with the right conditions for living things. After a hurricane or fire, inspectors determine whether damaged homes are still inhabitable or too dangerous for families to return.

Think of it this way: if you can inhabit a place, that place is habitable or inhabitable.