appoint
Americanverb (used with object)
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appoints,
present (3rd person singular)
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appointed,
past participle, past
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appointing
present participle
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to name or assign to a position, an office, or the like; designate.
to appoint a new treasurer; to appoint a judge to the bench.
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to determine by authority or agreement; fix; set.
to appoint a time for the meeting.
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Law. to designate (a person) to take the benefit of an estate created by a deed or will.
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to provide with what is necessary; equip; furnish.
They appointed the house with all the latest devices.
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Archaic. to order or establish by decree or command; ordain; constitute.
laws appointed by God.
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Obsolete. to point at by way of censure.
verb (used without object)
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appoints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
appointed,
past participle, past
-
appointing
present participle
verb
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(also intr) to assign officially, as for a position, responsibility, etc
he was appointed manager
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to establish by agreement or decree; fix
a time was appointed for the duel
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to prescribe or ordain
laws appointed by tribunal
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property law to nominate (a person), under a power granted in a deed or will, to take an interest in property
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to equip with necessary or usual features; furnish
a well-appointed hotel
Synonym Usage
See furnish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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appointernoun
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misappointverb (used with object)
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reappointverb (used with object)
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appointableadjective
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unappointableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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appointsimple
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appointssimple
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have appointedperfect
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has appointedperfect
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am appointingprogressive
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are appointingprogressive
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is appointingprogressive
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have been appointingperfect progressive
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has been appointingperfect progressive
Past
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appointedsimple
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had appointedperfect
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was appointingprogressive
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were appointingprogressive
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had been appointingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of appoint
1325–75; Middle English apointen, from Middle French apointer, equivalent to a- a- 5 + pointer “to point ”
Explanation
The President can appoint someone as ambassador to another county; that means to give them the job or recommend them for it. It must be nice to be appointed. Usually, people who want a job have to send in applications, do interviews, and jump through lots of hoops. Appointing is different: someone with the power to appoint can usually just give you the job. In some cases, appointing isn't a sure thing and means something closer to "recommending" — but it still beats filling out all those applications. It takes power to appoint people, which is why world leaders are often the ones appointing.
Vocabulary lists containing appoint
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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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.
See Examples For:
The ministers will appoint an external reviewer with the review aiming to launch in late October and conclude by the end of February 2027.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Jesse Lynn and Ted Papapostolou resigned from the Caesars board, and The Icahn Group waived its right to appoint replacement directors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The party's Senedd group is meeting on Thursday morning to decide if it needs to hold a vote or can appoint someone to the role.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
When putting together an estate plan, appoint an administrator/executor of your estate.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
The Duke said to Sancho, "Sancho, my friend, I, in the name of the great Don Quixote, appoint you governor of one of my islands."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
If you die while a named child is still a minor, the account is frozen until a court appoints a guardian.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom, an ex officio regent who appoints most of the board, has not taken a position.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Mr. Najmi leads the Mayor’s committee that appoints judges to city courts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Nike appoints David Denton, formerly of Pfizer and CVS Health, as its new chief financial officer, effective Aug. 17.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Then Mittelstaedt makes them practise skirmishing, and as a favour appoints Kantorek squad leader.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Kumar said families would have expected people appointed in senior police roles, such as the deputy chief constable, to have "candour and integrity".
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Trump appointed Bowman to be the Fed’s top bank regulator last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, was temporary deputy chief constable from 29 April 2025 and was appointed substantively into the role following a selection process in August, the force said.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
In 1976, President Ford appointed him as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
On the appointed night, Mom joined me in the backyard, and then other women arrived and a few small children.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Dish argued that appointing a trustee would introduce significant disruption and cost to the case and exacerbate liquidity pressures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Liverpool will look at internal candidates, but have not ruled out the possibility of appointing someone from outside the club.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
The act itself — appointing a crony and longtime friend to an important government job — was not unusual.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
The judge would then review his medical and psychological evidence with a view to appointing an investigator.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
She was close with both his son and Princess Nehemia; would appointing her somehow be a risk?
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
