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.
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
See furnish.
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)”
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.
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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
She says autonomous robots will be able to mine raw materials and use them to build space stations and equip missions for deeper space exploration.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 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
The man took my grandfather to the store to buy him some warm clothes to wear until he could properly equip himself for the winter.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
