appoint
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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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misappointverb (used with object)
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reappointverb (used with object)
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unappointableadjective
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appointableadjective
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appointernoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have appointedperfect
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has appointedperfect 3rd person singular
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am appointingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been appointingperfect progressive
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are appointingprogressive
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has been appointingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is appointingprogressive 3rd person singular
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appointingparticiple
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appointssingular 3rd person
Past
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had appointedperfect
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was appointingprogressive singular
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were appointingprogressive plural
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had been appointingperfect progressive
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appointedsimple
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appointedparticiple
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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.
Liverpool are in advanced talks with Andoni Iraola as they look to appoint a new head coach following the sacking of Arne Slot.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Trump has been able to appoint one Fed governor, Stephen Miran, to fill the remainder of Gov. Adriana Kugler’s term that expired at the end of January.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
Hong Kong requires incorporated companies to appoint a corporate secretary that files its annual returns, among other compliance functions.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Two years later, the tribunal dissolved the club's elected governing committee and allowed the government to appoint administrators in its place - a move that drew criticism from some members.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Graduate Dean George Birkhoff assured Ernest of Harvard’s high esteem for Oppenheimer “as a creative theorist” and confided that the university was willing to appoint him as an associate professor at $6,000.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
