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
-
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
- preequipment noun
- reequipment noun
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.
Exports of solar energy equipment from China doubled in March, a sign that the chaos in the energy industry from the Iran war is convincing countries to shift to more renewable sources.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
Thus the plan: The U.S. was initiating a “strict quarantine” on military equipment being shipped to Cuba.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
But if they do, QuantumScape would have JDAs with four of the top 10 global original equipment manufacturers, McNally wrote in a note to clients.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026
Ace was developed by good, old Sony, the 80-year-old makers of gaming consoles, televisions, smartphones, cameras and audio equipment that we enjoy every day.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
“This is so cool,” she whispered as Callaway turned his back to us to work on the huge bank of simulation equipment.
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.
