equipment
Americannoun
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anything kept, furnished, or provided for a specific purpose.
- Synonyms:
- accouterment, paraphernalia, apparatus
-
the act of equipping a person or thing.
-
the state of being equipped.
-
the personal knowledge and skill required for a task, occupation, etc..
He has the necessary equipment for law.
-
the rolling stock of a railroad.
noun
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an act or instance of equipping
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the items so provided
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a set of tools, devices, kit, etc, assembled for a specific purpose, such as a soldier's kit and weapons
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of equipment
Explanation
A motherboard and a graphics processor? Duct tape? A circular saw? A solar panel? Depending on what you’re up to, all these things can be considered equipment, which is whatever you need to complete a task. Right away you probably notice that a big chunk of the word equipment is made up of another word, the common verb equip — meaning "to provide someone with the tools they need for a specific task." Add equip to -ment (the suffix of choice when you want to turn a verb into a noun) and voilà! Like magic, the verb changes into a noun, and you end up with equipment: the materials you get when you are equipped to do a particular thing.
Vocabulary lists containing equipment
"Earthquake"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Scientific Investigation and Reasoning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During the mid-14th century, Islamic piracy expanded along the Valencian coastline, while increasing militarization created growing demand for protective equipment and weapons.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
That includes support roles like supply pickup, reconnaissance, recovery of equipment or casualties, and hazard inspection.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
The company said it expects to spend $2 billion to $2.5 billion over the next three years to replace the equipment that rolls steel.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
PepsiCo anticipates retraining and redeploying some drivers to other types of work, including managing the new equipment, synchronizing the movement of people who go to the stores, or handling the unloading themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
It was as though I was back in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire as equipment got knocked aside, chairs were upended, and everybody made a run for the door.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
