appendage

American  

[uh-pen-dij] / əˈpɛn dɪdʒ /

noun

appendages plural

1. a subordinate part attached to something; an auxiliary part; addition.

2. Anatomy, Zoology. any member of the body diverging from the axial trunk.

3. Botany, Mycology. any subsidiary part superadded to another part.

4. a person in a subordinate or dependent position, especially a servile or parasitic follower.

---

appendage British  

/ əˈpɛndɪdʒ /

noun

1. an ancillary or secondary part attached to a main part; adjunct

2. zoology any organ that projects from the trunk of animals such as arthropods

3. botany any subsidiary part of a plant, such as a branch or leaf

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• appendaged
  adjective
• unappendaged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• appendages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of appendage

First recorded in 1640–50; append + -age

Explanation

Use the noun appendage to describe something that’s attached to something larger. Your arm is an appendage to your body. Appendage often describes body parts, either on humans or animals. If it’s something that sticks out — like a finger, tail, or leg — chances are it can be called an appendage. The word can also be used figuratively to refer to something that’s associated with something larger or more important, like a husband who’s a mere appendage to his famous wife. In this sense, the word takes on a negative connotation: the appendage is not important.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

appendage appendages

What’s important is understanding how human hands can grasp an object, and then extrapolating that to whatever synthetic appendage has been chosen, she added.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 27, 2025

He played with a small cast on his left hand and was even using that bandaged appendage to stiff-arm defenders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

And then it worked its way down,” Now, he adds: “It’s an appendage to all of us.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025

Part of the cardio growth story is the Watchman product, a small implant that closes the left atrial appendage of patients with atrial fibrillation, or AF.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025

Maybe not a miraculous, but certainly a rather curious, story lay behind Onofre’s dearth of an appendage.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

She must operate a control pad to manipulate the appendages of a brain-dead coma patient and take him on a cross-country trip so his mother can say goodbye and legally pull the plug on him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Mr Teller said the name was also inspired by the distinctive pale "knuckles" on the small leg-like appendages at the side of the spider's mouth.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025

It basically means the Big Man’s appendages aren’t able to circulate blood back up to the rest of his body the way they once did, so fluids are pooling in his ankles—hence the swelling.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2025

Yet sea robins are most notable for their distinctively large, fan-shaped dorsal fins and for their six leg-like appendages.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2024

He’d described the way dragons flew, with special appendages on their wings.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• arm
• extremity
• foot
• hand
• leg
• limb