ill-equipped
Americanadjective
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badly or inadequately equipped.
an ill-equipped army.
-
ill-prepared.
a student ill-equipped to begin calculus.
Etymology
Origin of ill-equipped
First recorded in 1955–60
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.
If you do end up with an ill-equipped manager, there are likely lessons to be learned from that experience, too, as you move to find a better fit elsewhere.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 30, 2025
As three other officers arrived, they realized how ill-equipped they were: None of them had a rifle, one had no body armor.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025
Similarly, the U.S. electric grid is rapidly aging and ill-equipped to handle the massive increase in demand from AI and advanced manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025
This came after manager Nuno Espirito Santo had questioned the club's transfer process on Friday, feeling his squad is ill-equipped to handle a European campaign.
From BBC • Aug. 18, 2025
The tragedy of the Moriori resembles many other such tragedies in both the modern and the ancient world, pitting numerous well-equipped people against few ill-equipped opponents.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
