appendix

[ uh-pen-diks ]

See synonyms for: appendix appendices on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural ap·pen·di·ces

[uh-pen-duh-seez], /əˈpɛn dəˌsiz/, ap·pen·dix·es.

supplementary material at the end of a book, article, document, or other text, usually of an explanatory, statistical, or bibliographic nature.
an appendage.

Anatomy.
- a process or projection.
- the vermiform appendix.
Aeronautics. the short tube at the bottom of a balloon bag, by which the intake and release of buoyant gas is controlled.

Origin of appendix

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin: literally, “appendage,” equivalent to append(ere) “to add on” + -ix (equivalent to -ic- noun suffix + -s nominative singular ending); see origin at append

synonym study For appendix

Appendix, supplement both mean material added at the end of a book. An appendix gives useful additional information, but even without it the rest of the book is complete: In the appendix are forty detailed charts. A supplement, bound in the book or published separately, is given for comparison, as an enhancement, to provide corrections, to present later information, and the like: A yearly supplement is issued.

usage note For appendix

Appendices, a plural borrowed directly from Latin, is the usual plural, especially in scholarly writing, when referring to supplementary material at the end of a book. Appendixes is the usual plural in the anatomical meaning.

Other words for appendix

1	addendum, adjunct, appurtenance; addition, supplement

See synonyms for appendix on Thesaurus.com

Words that may be confused with appendix

appendix , index, supplement (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words Nearby appendix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use appendix in a sentence

Jones missed all but one game in the 1953-1954 season because of a ruptured appendix.
K.C. Jones, basketball Hall of Famer with a knack for championships, dies at 88 | Matt Schudel | December 27, 2020 | Washington Post
Much of that data was included in the appendix to the report.
Pr. George’s police reform group calls for more mental health resources, scrapping officer protections in misconduct investigations | Katie Mettler | December 4, 2020 | Washington Post
An appendix published years later clarifying those federal rules, which more cleanly describe mobility challenges, states mental illnesses are not considered a disability under the federal transit rules.
MTS Frequently Overrules Doctors’ Orders on Reduced Fares for the Disabled | Lisa Halverstadt | August 31, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
The neighborhood updated its community plan in 2018 and devoted a whole appendix on planning for sea level rise.
Nobody’s Talking About the Sports Arena Flood Zone | MacKenzie Elmer | August 19, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
When he was 12, his appendix burst and he underwent emergency surgery, followed by a desperate eight-hour ambulance ride to another hospital in search of better medication to stop the bleeding.
Childhood medical battles shaped his quest to deliver more effective treatments | Tate Ryan-Mosley | August 19, 2020 | MIT Technology Review

The longtime justice, appointed by President Clinton, added a lengthy appendix of evidence he found relevant to his dissent.
The Supreme Court Rules Campaign Limits Are for Losers | Ben Jacobs | April 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Things go well until Oscar the Grouch is diagnosed with a burst appendix and Romney discovers he is uninsured.
The Seven Best Reality TV Shows Mitt Romney Could Make | Matt Latimer | November 12, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
That appendix is taken more seriously because it is between the covers of a holy book.
The U.S. Military Should Hand Out Qurans in Afghanistan as a Good-Will Gesture | Richard Miniter | March 1, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Comes with the funniest footnotes and appendix (no kidding) ever written.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Feb. 15, 2012 | Lizzie Crocker, Malcolm Jones | February 18, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The procedure is now the most common surgery performed in the U.S.—more common than getting your tonsils or appendix removed.
The C-Section Backlash | Danielle Friedman | October 17, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
I shall then give an account of my various excursions in an appendix, and afterwards resume the thread of my journal.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
The geological character of this rock is more fully treated upon in the appendix by my friend Dr. Fitton.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2] | Phillip Parker King
See appendix I for the exact facts which were not known to me until long afterwards.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
Mr. Brae, in the appendix to his edition of Chaucer's Astrolabe (p. 101), has a long note on the present passage.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey Chaucer
The table as prepared is set out in appendix A to this report.
Report of the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents | Oswald Chettle Mazengarb et al.

British Dictionary definitions for appendix

appendix

/ (əˈpɛndɪks) /

nounplural -dices (-dɪˌsiːz) or -dixes

a body of separate additional material at the end of a book, magazine, etc, esp one that is documentary or explanatory
any part that is dependent or supplementary in nature or function; appendage

anatomy See vermiform appendix

Origin of appendix

C16: from Latin: an appendage, from appendere to append

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for appendix

appendix

[ ə-pĕn′dĭks ]

Plural appendixes appendices (ə-pĕn′-dĭ-sēz′)

A tubular projection attached to the cecum of the large intestine and located on the lower right side of the abdomen. Also called vermiform appendix

Cultural definitions for appendix

appendix

A small saclike organ located at the upper end of the large intestine. The appendix has no known function in present-day humans, but it may have played a role in the digestive system in humans of earlier times. The appendix is also called the vermiform appendix because of its wormlike (“vermiform”) shape.

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