appointment
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
-
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:
It’s unlikely she’d talk about the cabinet appointment Ronald Reagan dangled in front of her as she worked tirelessly to get him elected, the cabinet appointment she never got.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Red Bull have confirmed the appointment of the Mercedes driver scout involved in discovering Kimi Antonelli to head up their young driver programme.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Still, “there is limited clarity at this juncture on whether this appointment is temporary or permanent,” economists Lavanya Venkateswaran and Ahmad A Enver wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
On Wednesday, CSU announced the appointment of a new president for the San Bernardino campus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
He was eager to wind up business by 3:00 P.M. for an appointment he had with his wife, Mary.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
The dual appointments sent mixed signals to business leaders, who view Khan as hostile to corporate interests and Shorris as a trusted ally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The dual appointments opened a new question: who’s really running New York City’s economic policy?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Formal details of some of the changes are expected to be revealed later, in the House of Lords, and as government appointments continue to be made.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The focus now turns to his senior cabinet appointments, with all eyes on who will replace Rachel Reeves as finance minister.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
“It’s Saturday, so I have a lot of appointments today! Lots of houses to show!”
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
