appointment

American  

[uh-point-muhnt] / əˈpɔɪnt mənt /

noun

1. a fixed mutual agreement for a meeting; engagement.

   We made an appointment to meet again.

   Synonyms:

   date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

2. a meeting set for a specific time or place.

   I'm late for my appointment.

   Synonyms:

   date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

3. the act of appointing, designating, or placing in office.

   to fill a vacancy by appointment.

4. an office, position, or the like, to which a person is appointed.

   He received his appointment as ambassador to Italy.

5. Usually appointments. equipment, furnishings, or accouterments.

6. appointments, accouterments for a soldier or a horse.

7. Manège. a horse-show class in which the contestant need not be a member of a hunt but must wear regulation hunt livery.

8. Archaic. decree; ordinance.

---

appointment British  

/ əˈpɔɪntmənt /

noun

1. an arrangement to meet a person or be at a place at a certain time

2. the act of placing in a job or position

3. the person who receives such a job or position

4. the job or position to which such a person is appointed

5. (usually plural) a fixture or fitting

6. property law nomination to an interest in property under a deed or will

---

appointment Idioms  

1. see make an appointment.

---

Related Words

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

• proappointment adjective
• reappointment noun

Etymology

Origin of appointment

1375–1425; late Middle English apoynt ( e ) ment < Middle French ap ( p ) ointement. See appoint, -ment

Example Sentences

He described the new archbishop's appointment as "a profound split, profound breaking point".

From BBC

For almost a year, as the case wound through the courts, he refused to make appointments under the proposed rules.

From Salon

Her surprise appointment came only three months after BP appointed a new chairman, Albert Manifold.

From BBC

He invited them to bring loved ones along to appointments so he could answer any questions they might have about the disease.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s been a hard year for Stephanie Watson, who has been flying from North Carolina to New Jersey to take her mom to doctor’s appointments and take her dad to surgery.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• approval
• certification
• choice
• designation
• election
• nomination
• selection