contraption
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of contraption
First recorded in 1815–25; perhaps contr(ivance) + (ad)aption, variant of adaptation
Explanation
A contraption is a device that has a specific purpose and is often overly complicated. If your dad yells, “Get that contraption out of here!” He doesn’t appreciate the Rube Goldberg machine you made out of his golf clubs. The word is English, all right, but how it got here is a mystery. It may be from a combination of contrive and adaptation. Contraptions — also called gadgets or gizmos — are devices people make for various purposes. Often, this word is used when someone isn't quite sure what something is, as in "What's that contraption?" Oh that’s just a dog-walking machine made of a roller skate, bacon, and four paper clips.
Vocabulary lists containing contraption
Chains
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"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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Fast Food Nation
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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:
Lillard's uncle and grandfather created a contraption that would open the iron lung so Lillard could live alone and get in out of the iron lung herself.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
ROMONT, Switzerland—Willy Wonka would have marveled at one of the machines at a manufacturing plant here—a contraption that injects flavors into coffee capsules via a set of whirring tubes labeled “hazelnut,” “caramel,” and “blueberry cheesecake.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
His hair-trigger homemade contraption pressured all three major networks into giving Kiritsis airtime to explain his grievances to the public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
And this is not some archaic cinderblock and mortar contraption: It’s a top-of-the-line, high-tech fabrication.
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2025
He rode out to the track in silence, looking down at the contraption clutched in Smith’s hand and wondering at the trainer’s judgment.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
They install heat cables in the soil to keep their pumpkins warm, build contraptions to cover them from the sun and add grow-lights for cloudy days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025
Crowds hoot and cheer as the contraptions float into the darkening sky, while referees judge the magnificence of their aerial explosions.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025
Photomatica, one of several companies riding the photo booth wave, has been restoring and operating these contraptions since 2010.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2025
All those Rube Goldberg contraptions we used to make our marriages equal, like hiring a house cleaner, the nanny, and family who lives close by, were stripped away.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2024
She knew how to coax milk and gather eggs and bake bread and fashion inventions and build contraptions and grow plants and press cheese and simmer a stew to nourish the mind and the soul.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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.
