append
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to add as a supplement, accessory, or appendix; subjoin.
to append a note to a letter.
-
to attach or suspend as a pendant.
-
to sign a document with; affix.
to append one's signature to a will.
verb
-
to add as a supplement
to append a footnote
-
to attach; hang on
Other Word Forms
- misappended adjective
- unappended adjective
Etymology
Origin of append
1640–50; < Latin appendere, equivalent to ap- ap- 1 ( def. ) + -pendere to hang (transitive)
Explanation
To append means to add on, usually to the end of something. You might want to append a clause onto a contract if you feel something has been left unsaid in it. You’ve probably seen the word append before, at least as part of another word: appendix. An appendix is a final section appended onto a book that offers additional information or notes. You can also use append to mean to fix onto or to attach usually at the end. Sometimes you can change the meaning of a word by removing the suffix and appending another to it. You'd best not append your presentation with the remark that you actually don't know what you are talking about.
Vocabulary lists containing append
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain
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"The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe
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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.
However, he adds that other features, like "community notes" that allow contributors to append context to a viral post, shows the platform is taking transparency seriously.
From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025
"I figured that we could append two branch tails as 'boosters' into the lipidoid to promote the delivery of mRNA," says Han.
From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2024
If you search for a recipe that calls for meat, for instance, someone can append a Note sharing a vegetarian substitute.
From Slate • Nov. 18, 2023
For example, you could append the statement “The continuum hypothesis is true” to the group of axioms.
From Scientific American • Jul. 13, 2023
Bobby had refused to append his name, implying his own doubt as to the girl’s paternity.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
