appointment
Americannoun
-
appointments
plural
-
a fixed mutual agreement for a meeting; engagement.
We made an appointment to meet again.
- Synonyms:
- date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation
-
a meeting set for a specific time or place.
I'm late for my appointment.
- Synonyms:
- date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation
-
the act of appointing, designating, or placing in office.
to fill a vacancy by appointment.
-
an office, position, or the like, to which a person is appointed.
He received his appointment as ambassador to Italy.
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Usually appointments. equipment, furnishings, or accouterments.
-
appointments, accouterments for a soldier or a horse.
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Manège. a horse-show class in which the contestant need not be a member of a hunt but must wear regulation hunt livery.
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Archaic. decree; ordinance.
noun
-
an arrangement to meet a person or be at a place at a certain time
-
the act of placing in a job or position
-
the person who receives such a job or position
-
the job or position to which such a person is appointed
-
(usually plural) a fixture or fitting
-
property law nomination to an interest in property under a deed or will
Synonym Usage
Appointment, office, post, station all refer to kinds of duty or employment. Appointment refers to a position to which one is assigned, as by a high government official. Office often suggests a position of trust or authority. Post is usually restricted to a military or other public position, as of a diplomat, although it may also refer to a teaching position. Both post and station may refer to the place where a person is assigned to work.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of appointment
1375–1425; late Middle English apoynt ( e ) ment < Middle French ap ( p ) ointement. See appoint, -ment
Explanation
An appointment is a preset arrangement to meet, like a dentist’s appointment, an appointment with your accountant, or an appointment to have your palm read. An appointment is a formal date or plan to meet at the appointed time. Whether you have a doctor’s appointment, a hair appointment, or a 1 o’clock lunch appointment, you need to be there — or you’ll have a broken appointment. It’s easier to remember your appointments if you write them down! With roots in the Old French apointier, meaning to “arrange, settle, or place," appointment can also mean the placing, or appointing of, someone into an unelected position.
Vocabulary lists containing appointment
Sula
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 4
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ment
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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:
The NHS says cervical screening appointments with a clinician is still the best way to prevent cancer – and even if you have missed an appointment you can still come forward for one.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Many on Wall Street applauded Warsh’s appointment, seeing his record from 15 years ago as proof he is instinctively tough on inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Scott Jennings’ appointment as White House press secretary would not be a surprising turn in Donald Trump’s second administration.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Your last visit to the primary care doctor likely followed a familiar sequence: You waited weeks, if not months, for the appointment.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
I stayed in my room during Nan’s home-visit beauty appointment.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
It remains to be seen where the appointments will leave diplomacy with the US, after the expiry of a 60-day deadline for an agreement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The appointments came with aggressive goals that included tightening the military chain of command, turning an ideological militia into a neighborhood intelligence agency and emphasizing an offensive approach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Slaven said that the VA completed a record number of mental healthcare appointments in the past fiscal year while also lowering veterans’ wait times.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
The confederation described both appointments as an unprecedented event for the region.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Roger joins me at the desk, and we schedule our appointments for next week.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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.
