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.
-
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:
Nxum’s partners told a business associate after Hines’s appointment that he would have no role in the company’s crypto-related work because of his new position, according to messages reviewed by the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
A 70-year-old man died of eye cancer after a recommended appointment was not followed up by health professionals, an inquest found.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
He announced other measures including the appointment of a dedicated staff member to support individuals reporting sexual misconduct, and inviting specialized New York State Police detectives to probe future sexual assault allegations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
The application was submitted, and Ortiz Jara was completing a fingerprinting appointment for the application when he was detained in May.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Dasch asked to make an appointment to speak to someone about sabotage, preferably J. Edgar Hoover.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
For vendors and appointments, it helps couples identify relevant options and coordinate next steps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Mentor had regular monitoring appointments throughout the treatment.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Doctolib is a private website that allows patients to book appointments with doctors, but has also begun to allow patients to store medical information to more easily share their records.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
My sister started taking her to appointments, doing the grocery shopping and handling repairs, and then moved in.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
The ink was barely dry on the bulletin in Air Scoop announcing the reduction in force before Melvin Butler released a plan to offer permanent appointments to war service employees.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
