Tangible means something you can actually touch or physically interact with. A tangible object has real form and substance: a book is tangible, a basketball is tangible, your desk is tangible. These things exist in the physical world where you can pick them up, hold them, or bump into them.

Ideas, dreams, and feelings aren't tangible because you can't reach out and touch them. But when those ideas turn into something real, they become tangible. An architect's vision for a building isn't tangible, but once the building stands there with real walls and doors, it's tangible.

People also use tangible to describe results or evidence you can clearly see and measure. When your teacher asks for tangible proof that you completed your science project, she wants something concrete: the actual model, the written report, or the data you collected. When your parents see tangible improvement in your room-cleaning habits, they can walk in and see the difference with their own eyes.

The opposite of tangible is intangible: things like love, courage, or imagination that are real and important but don't have physical form.