ill-equipped
Americanadjective
-
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.
State agencies, however, were ill-equipped to accommodate the order.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026
After two decades of nearly flat demand, it’s ill-equipped to handle the massive needs of data centers, which now consume 5% of the nation’s total power.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 17, 2026
But that will be of little comfort for two teams who, despite their status and history, look ill-equipped for this campaign.
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2025
This leaves the actors ill-equipped to actually talk about the movie and their characters, at little fault of their own.
From Salon • Jul. 25, 2025
I was so ill-equipped to set out into that world alone.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
