contraption
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
It was initially greeted with skepticism, but the potential of the cool contraption quickly drew attention.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
The barber chair, the locus of Sweeney’s revenge on the heartless cruelty of a Victorian London that wrecked his life, isn’t the elaborate contraption of other productions.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
Step closer and you hear the contraption appearing to breathe, a tinkling sound like wind chimes emanating from the cooling mechanism that keeps its innards colder than outer space.
From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025
The object of Mouse Trap, a board game featuring a Rube Goldberg-style contraption, is to catch plastic mice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025
I pulled my backpack off and carefully took out each egg contraption.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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.
