Digital Technology. a software application, often a small, specialized program for mobile devices.
You’ll find numerous free photo editing apps in the app store on your smartphone.
The word processing app that comes with the laptop isn’t adequate for our publishing needs.
an application; a form to be filled out by an applicant.
I'm working on my college apps.
apparatus.
apparent.
appendix.
applied.
appointed.
approved.
approximate.
First recorded in 1985–90; shortening of application ( def. )
By shortening
An app is a program that's designed to be used on your computer, tablet, or mobile phone. If you don't have a weather app, how will you know whether or not to bring your raincoat? App is short for application. You can use it for any kind of computer application (like word processing or spreadsheets), but it usually refers to smartphones. If you have one, you've also got apps, for things like maps, banking, entertainment, to-do lists, and photo editing. Every so often, you'll also hear someone use app as shorthand for a restaurant appetizer: "I'd like to order some apps for the table, when you have a sec!"
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Truckers don't need another app. We need stronger protections and bigger paycheques."
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2025
Think about a recipe like a roadmap, a GPS app. or a guideline, but to a destination you’ve already been to.
From Salon • Mar. 30, 2025
Though Uber as a company has horrifying labor practices, you can at least look at them and go, “This is why I’m using the app. This is why this is a potentially world-changing concept.”
From Slate • Feb. 2, 2025
“As a parent, I get tired of that being UGA’s go-to. Oh, we have the safety app. Well, the safety app is not much of a deterrent,” Bennett told the Atlanta TV station.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024
“You guys won first place. Congratulations. You’ve got a thousand dollars to put toward the development of your app. It’s a step in the right direction.”
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
