gadget

[ gaj-it ]

See synonyms for gadget on Thesaurus.com

noun

a mechanical contrivance or device; any ingenious article.

Origin of gadget

1850–55; origin uncertain; compare French gâchette the catch of a lock, sear of a gunlock

Other words for gadget

contraption; whatsis, doohickey, thingamajig

See synonyms for gadget on Thesaurus.com

Other words from gadget

gadg·et·y [gaj-i-tee], /ˈgædʒ ɪ ti/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gadget in a sentence

But there are dozens of new gadgets that reinforce the idea that knowledge is power.
Nothing Says I Love You Like Data | The Daily Beast | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Related: 15 Gadgets for a Better Night's Sleep Worried about skin cancer from all that sun exposure?
Fight Seasonal Affective Disorder With This New Tracker | DailyBurn | November 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
If you can imagine tech gadgets that might make your life better, a creative genius at Kickstarter probably already has.
Fish on Wheels, Digital Pet Babysitters, and More of the Summer’s Best Kickstarters | Charlotte Lytton | May 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There are lots of gadgets that U.S. commandos would love to have, except for the fact that these items don't even exist.
Special Ops’ Weapons Wish List | Michael Peck | April 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He is hooked on Westerns and he loves new gadgets and he spends a lot of his time just playing.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers | Nik Cohn | February 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Indirect lighting gave a pretty gleam to the metal gadgets on the tables.
Fee of the Frontier | Horace Brown Fyfe
After months of testing and inspecting complicated electronic devices, he found simple gadgets amusing.
Restricted Tool | Malcolm B. Morehart
Religion for a sailor should be simple and free from the gadgets of ritual and all that sort of truck.
The Viking Blood | Frederick William Wallace
He lifted a hand for silence: then his fingers leaped among the gadgets on the table.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930 | Various
It was then that I killed him and buried him under a pyramid of indispensable gadgets.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, Dec. 26, 1917 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for gadget

gadget

/ (ˈɡædʒɪt) /

noun

a small mechanical device or appliance
any object that is interesting for its ingenuity or novelty rather than for its practical use

Origin of gadget

C19: perhaps from French gâchette lock catch, trigger, diminutive of gâche staple

Derived forms of gadget

gadgety, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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