equip
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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to provide with intellectual or emotional resources; prepare.
Education and travel have equipped her to deal with all sorts of people.
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to dress; array.
He equipped himself in all his finery.
abbreviation
verb
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to furnish with (necessary supplies, etc)
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(usually passive) to provide with abilities, understanding, etc
her son was never equipped to be a scholar
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to dress out; attire
Related Words
See furnish.
Other Word Forms
- equipper noun
- preequip verb (used with object)
- reequip verb (used with object)
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.
The government said the courses will equip young people with the high-level skills for well-paid, high-skilled jobs, giving them a clear route from education into work.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Donald Trump’s executive order to promote AI in schools argued that the tech “sparks curiosity and creativity” and “will equip our students with the foundational knowledge and skills.”
From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026
Sony and Honda are looking to capitalize on growing interest in self-driving technology and plan to eventually equip all their vehicles for full autonomy.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
As is the case with Tesla and its Full Self-Driving subscription, Rivian doesn’t equip all cars with the company’s advanced driver-assistance system.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026
Pretty girls in their best summer dresses begged for funds with which to equip troops, and they blushed happily at the enthusiastic cheers of the young men for whose cause they pled.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
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.
