arrangement

American  

[uh-reynj-muhnt] / əˈreɪndʒ mənt /

noun

• arrangements
  plural

1. an act of arranging; state of being arranged.

2. the manner or way in which things are arranged.

   a tactful arrangement of the seating at dinner.

3. a final settlement; adjustment by agreement.

   The arrangement with the rebels lasted only two weeks.

4. Usually arrangements. preparatory measures; plans; preparations.

   They made arrangements for an early departure.

5. something arranged in a particular way.

   a floral arrangement; the arrangement of chairs for the seminar.

6. Music.

   1. the adaptation of a composition to voices or instruments, or to a new purpose.

   2. a piece so adapted.

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idioms

1. final arrangements, the planning or scheduling of funeral services and burial.

   Final arrangements are still pending.

arrangement British  

/ əˈreɪndʒmənt /

noun

1. the act of arranging or being arranged

2. the form in which things are arranged

   he altered the arrangement of furniture in the room

3. a thing composed of various ordered parts; the result of arranging

   a flower arrangement

4. (often plural) a preparatory measure taken or plan made; preparation

5. an agreement or settlement; understanding

6. an adaptation of a piece of music for performance in a different way, esp on different instruments from those for which it was originally composed

7. an adaptation (of a play, etc) for broadcasting

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rearrangement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• arrangements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of arrangement

From French, dating back to 1720–30; see origin at arrange, -ment

Explanation

When you organize things in an orderly way, the result is called an arrangement. If you admire your friend's arrangement of his living room furniture, you might go home and make a similar arrangement. Your brother might keep an arrangement of Lego creations on his desk, and you could put an arrangement of wildflowers in a vase in the middle of your kitchen table. Another kind of arrangement is one you make when you negotiate an agreement with another person: "We have an arrangement — she gives me a ride to school and I walk her dog in the afternoon." The Old French root, arengier, means "to set in a row."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arrangement arrangements

"My suggestion to the director of public health is to look at a balanced arrangement, not the 8% that has been suggested."

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

By agreeing to the arrangement, users were signed up for a scheme where they agreed to purchase a certain number of products over a specific amount of time at full price.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

The arrangement was aimed at minimizing the number and cost of change orders, which are the bane of construction projects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

The Bank of England, however, says U.K. insurers don’t hold enough loss-absorbing capital against this kind of offshore arrangement and plans to make them hold more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

His competitors soon had their own rolling machines—although Duke had worked out a special arrangement with the machine's makers guaranteeing him a rate 25 percent under the best price charged any other manufacturer.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

The US has defended the third-country deals as lawful, despite rights groups criticising the arrangements as opaque and many of the deportees ultimately being repatriated.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

One of the most striking arrangements was located in the southeastern part of the chamber.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

The episode demonstrated that where interests converge, Israel and the new Syrian government can address concrete security threats through U.S.-mediated, verifiable arrangements rather than confrontation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Tehran signalled last week that it had agreed with Oman a route for ships to transit the strait and were finalising arrangements to jointly manage the waterway.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

The arrangements were soon settled: in exchange for three hundred dollars a month, Mia would vacuum, dust, and tidy the Richardson house three times a week and prepare dinner nightly.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Related Words

• adjustment
• agreement
• compromise
• deal
• package
• plan
• preparation
• provision
• schedule
• settlement