gadget
Americannoun
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gadgets
plural
noun
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a small mechanical device or appliance
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any object that is interesting for its ingenuity or novelty rather than for its practical use
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gadget
1850–55; origin uncertain; compare French gâchette the catch of a lock, sear of a gunlock
Explanation
A gadget is a tool or device, especially one that works remarkably well for a specific task. Your dad's favorite kitchen gadget might be his special knife that cuts vegetables into spirals. The remote control your sister rigs up to the Christmas tree is a gadget, and your camping tool that folds out into various knives, corkscrews, and scissors is another kind of gadget. The original spelling was gadjet, and it's thought to have originated in the 1850's as sailors' slang, meaning any mechanism or ship part that either lacked a name or whose name had been forgotten. It may be rooted in the French gâchette, "piece of a mechanism."
Vocabulary lists containing gadget
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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The Ingenious Lexicon of Invention
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The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
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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:
The new gadget can detect, for example, if keys fall behind a sofa.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
I’m a science nerd who has tried every gadget under the sun.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Google Glass could be the next must-have gadget if the company can allay privacy fears and overcome its label as a ‘Segway for your face.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Which raises the question: Why buy another gadget instead of simply exercising self-control?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Knowing him, he probably built that gadget to measure how far away someone is, or something like that.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
The centre's shops sell tech equipment of all sorts, from computer parts to gadgets and games consoles.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
It piled up dollars selling Americans cars and gadgets, then loaned those dollars right back by buying U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
There’s no wonder or dread in this future — just the resigned acceptance that nothing is remarkable, despite all the nifty gadgets everyone has.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Besides staying hydrated and turning on the air conditioning, some of the most basic actions repeatedly encouraged by government officials, residents have turned to new products and gadgets to beat the heat.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
On the contrary, a constant stream of new gadgets make it easier to use poisons on lawn and garden — and increase the gardener’s contact with them.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
