All life evolves: microorganisms can become resistant to drugs, viruses evade our vaccines, and species may adapt to climate change. Even the ability to evolve can evolve. If we were to understand how this happens and which mechanisms play a role, it may be possible to predict evolution to some extent. This is why the concept of evolvability is now very popular in various areas of the life sciences. However, it turns out that this concept is used in very different ways within the scientific community. Theoretical biologists from the University of Groningen have now written a paper that should create some order in discussions on evolvability. It was published online in Trends in Ecology and Evolution on 10 February.