equip
verb (used with object)
to supply with whatever gear or apparatus is needed for use or for any undertaking; fit out, as a ship or army.
equip
1 American
[ih-kwip]
/ ɪˈkwɪp /
verb (used with object)
-
equips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
equipped,
past participle, past
-
equipping
present participle
-
to supply with whatever gear or apparatus is needed for use or for any undertaking; fit out, as a ship or army.
They spent several thousand dollars to equip their boat.
-
to provide with intellectual or emotional resources; prepare.
Education and travel have equipped her to deal with all sorts of people.
-
to dress; array.
He equipped himself in all his finery.
equip.
2
American
abbreviation
equip
British
/ ɪˈkwɪp /
verb
-
to furnish with (necessary supplies, etc)
-
(usually passive) to provide with abilities, understanding, etc
her son was never equipped to be a scholar
-
to dress out; attire
Synonym Usage
See furnish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
equipsimple
-
equipssimple
-
have equippedperfect
-
has equippedperfect
-
am equippingprogressive
-
are equippingprogressive
-
is equippingprogressive
-
have been equippingperfect progressive
-
has been equippingperfect progressive
Past
-
equippedsimple
-
had equippedperfect
-
was equippingprogressive
-
were equippingprogressive
-
had been equippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of equip
First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French equiper, Old French esquiper “to fit out, equip,” probably from Old Norse skipa “to put in order, arrange, man (a ship)”
Explanation
To equip means to provide something needed for a particular purpose. If you’re planning a trip to the Arctic, you should equip yourself with warm clothes, tents, and two-way radios. You might want to equip someone with an ice axe for ice climbing and a diving watch for underwater excursions. The ice axe or the diving watch is their equipment. Equip can also be used in a more figurative sense. If you are supposed to write computer programs but have never worked with a computer, you might say that you are not equipped for that. On a really bad day, it might feel like people are not equipped to deal with each other politely.
Vocabulary lists containing equip
Chapter 24: World War I
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President Obama's second inaugural address
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Vocabulary Review, Unit 6
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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:
"To enable CAR T cells to detect and eliminate the disease-causing cells, we equip patients' own immune cells with a receptor that acts like a search sensor for CD19."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
A few months ago, suppliers had offered pharmacies around 200 pairs each, enough to equip about four million people, he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Everybody is on a different journey. What we want to do here is equip them, so that they’re ready when they do join,” Saint Juste said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
"There are bodies that equip them with this ideology, with food and water, and logistical support, and also guidance on how to do this."
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Although I didn’t want to start before Labor Day, when the nation settles back to normal living, I did want to get used to my turtle shell, to equip it and learn it.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
“But we can’t facilitate. We can educate. We can navigate. We can equip. We’ve got an entire educational library. July 1 didn’t just get here and go, ‘Okay, you figure this out.’
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2021
Half of the Helios campus is leased to CoreWeave, which equips it, positioning Galaxy to capitalize on AI demand.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
The program equips families with books and technology like mobile hotspots.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
Pinehurst also equips every caddie and every golf cart with GPS trackers, the better to know precisely how play is progressing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
"Our results show that MafB functions as a master regulator that gives macrophages their identity and equips them with the capabilities necessary to support organ health," explains immunologist Thomas Marichal.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2026
His way is to use men whom He calls, trains and equips.
From The Message and the Man: Some Essentials of Effective Preaching by J. Dodd (James Dodd) Jackson
The morgue at the local hospital in Bharatpur is equipped to hold only a couple dozen bodies.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
“LAPD officers do not enter the force to become first responders to mental health crises and are not equipped with the proper training to do so.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Teachers with preparation in developmental psychology and classroom management may also be better equipped to respond to behavioral difficulties and provide more productive learning experiences.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
SpaceX’s new spaceport will be the largest in the world, with five launch complexes, each equipped with two pads.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Madame Babushkinov was ill equipped to console the child, for she was a bundle of nerves herself and chattered nonstop.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Generative A.I. certainly has the potential to worsen pandemic conspiracy theories by equipping them with highly convincing fabricated evidence.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
By relaxing restrictions on arms exports, Japan hopes to revitalize its small defense industry and play a bigger role in regional security by equipping countries such as Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, meanwhile, became the first in California to employ the device, equipping two vehicles by mid-2025 and adding another eight vehicles six months later.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
Australia's army is in the throes of a major transformation, equipping itself with long-range firepower, drones and other modern combat tools.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
There is no hope of better equipping me unless we use Julie’s clothing coupons.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
