appointment

[uh-point-muhnt]

noun

1. a fixed mutual agreement for a meeting; engagement.

   We made an appointment to meet again.

   Synonyms: date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

2. a meeting set for a specific time or place.

   I'm late for my appointment.

   Synonyms: date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

3. the act of appointing, designating, or placing in office.

   to fill a vacancy by appointment.

4. an office, position, or the like, to which a person is appointed.

   He received his appointment as ambassador to Italy.

5. Usually appointments. equipment, furnishings, or accouterments.

6. appointments, accouterments for a soldier or a horse.

7. Manège.,  a horse-show class in which the contestant need not be a member of a hunt but must wear regulation hunt livery.

8. Archaic.,  decree; ordinance.

appointment

/ əˈpɔɪntmənt /

noun

1. an arrangement to meet a person or be at a place at a certain time

2. the act of placing in a job or position

3. the person who receives such a job or position

4. the job or position to which such a person is appointed

5. (usually plural) a fixture or fitting

6. property law nomination to an interest in property under a deed or will

Other Word Forms

• proappointment adjective
• reappointment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of appointment¹

1375–1425; late Middle English apoynt ( e ) ment < Middle French ap ( p ) ointement. See appoint, -ment

Idioms and Phrases

see make an appointment.

Synonym Study

Appointment, office, post, station all refer to kinds of duty or employment. Appointment refers to a position to which one is assigned, as by a high government official. Office often suggests a position of trust or authority. Post is usually restricted to a military or other public position, as of a diplomat, although it may also refer to a teaching position. Both post and station may refer to the place where a person is assigned to work.

Example Sentences

Earlier this week Gabriel Attal, widely seen as Macron's protégé, said he "no longer understood" Macron and called for the appointment of an independent negotiator to steer the government.

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Some of the biggest waiting lists are for speech and language appointments - with schools seeing a huge increase in students needing additional help.

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To read this brief, one would assume parents are barely involved in the process of getting a referral, setting up an appointment or deciding why therapy is even needed to begin with.

Read more on Salon

Helen Patterson, from Solihull, said she requested an interpreter four or five times in advance before hospital appointments but none had been there when she arrived.

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In a declaration at the presidential palace late on Monday, Rajoelina announced the appointment of Gen Zafisambo, saying the prime minister needed to be "someone clean" and "ready to save Madagascar".

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Related Words

• approval 
• certification 
• choice 
• designation 
• election 
• nomination 
• selection