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:
Trump announced Saturday that he is forming an “AI Force,” which he compared to the Space Force created during his first term, and will soon appoint an AI “czar.”
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 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 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
When putting together an estate plan, appoint an administrator/executor of your estate.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
His father had provided an illustration of the Ptolemaic cosmos in which the outermost sphere was labelled ‘Here the learned do appoint the habitacle of God and the Elect.’
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Newsom appoints members to the foundation board, which determines what expenses to cover in the governor’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
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
Under the leasehold system, the freeholder appoints a managing agent to maintain and service the common parts of a building.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Coombs said investors are currently giving Burnham the benefit of the doubt as they await clarity on who he appoints to his top team, especially who he names as chancellor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
It will all be pretty new to Alvaro Arbeloa, appointed as Fulham's manager in the summer after taking charge of just 28 games as Real Madrid boss in the second half of last season.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
One explanation for Friday’s yen dip is that BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda faced two dissenting votes to his rate increase, from board members appointed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Why was he appointed to this role and made substantive from an active role?
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Newly appointed central-bank Gov. Destry Damayanti is likely to highlight tighter global financial conditions and geopolitical tensions as key risks on the horizon, while noting that the domestic economy remains relatively resilient, DBS economists said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
A month later, on March 18, a commission appointed by the mayor eight months earlier to look into the full spectrum of black grievances issued its long-awaited report to the city council.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
By Wednesday, Reform's focus was on appointing a new leader.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
When appointing him as acting minister, Zelensky had said that "Khmara has gained extensive and, in many respects, unprecedented experience with technological combat operations."
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 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
Mayor Grabarek ended the meeting by postponing any decision on the Bacon Street project and appointing a committee to look into black demands.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
