appoint
Americanverb (used with object)
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appoints,
present (3rd person singular)
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appointed,
past participle, past
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appointing
present participle
-
to name or assign to a position, an office, or the like; designate.
to appoint a new treasurer; to appoint a judge to the bench.
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to determine by authority or agreement; fix; set.
to appoint a time for the meeting.
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Law. to designate (a person) to take the benefit of an estate created by a deed or will.
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to provide with what is necessary; equip; furnish.
They appointed the house with all the latest devices.
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Archaic. to order or establish by decree or command; ordain; constitute.
laws appointed by God.
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Obsolete. to point at by way of censure.
verb (used without object)
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appoints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
appointed,
past participle, past
-
appointing
present participle
verb
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(also intr) to assign officially, as for a position, responsibility, etc
he was appointed manager
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to establish by agreement or decree; fix
a time was appointed for the duel
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to prescribe or ordain
laws appointed by tribunal
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property law to nominate (a person), under a power granted in a deed or will, to take an interest in property
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to equip with necessary or usual features; furnish
a well-appointed hotel
Synonym Usage
See furnish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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appointernoun
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misappointverb (used with object)
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reappointverb (used with object)
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appointableadjective
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unappointableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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appointsimple
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appointssimple
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have appointedperfect
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has appointedperfect
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am appointingprogressive
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are appointingprogressive
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is appointingprogressive
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have been appointingperfect progressive
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has been appointingperfect progressive
Past
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appointedsimple
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had appointedperfect
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was appointingprogressive
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were appointingprogressive
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had been appointingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of appoint
1325–75; Middle English apointen, from Middle French apointer, equivalent to a- a- 5 + pointer “to point ”
Explanation
The President can appoint someone as ambassador to another county; that means to give them the job or recommend them for it. It must be nice to be appointed. Usually, people who want a job have to send in applications, do interviews, and jump through lots of hoops. Appointing is different: someone with the power to appoint can usually just give you the job. In some cases, appointing isn't a sure thing and means something closer to "recommending" — but it still beats filling out all those applications. It takes power to appoint people, which is why world leaders are often the ones appointing.
Vocabulary lists containing appoint
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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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 government also got the right to appoint one independent director and mandated that a majority of the board would be U.S. citizens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
If elected, Le Pen has pledged to appoint Bardella as her prime minister.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
As a Plan B, you could also ask your friend to appoint a co-executor or a secondary executor.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The process to appoint Vrancken was quick and initial signs were promising.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The Duke said to Sancho, "Sancho, my friend, I, in the name of the great Don Quixote, appoint you governor of one of my islands."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
If you decline before the court appoints you, you simply do not file a petition for letters testamentary.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Whoever Burnham appoints as chancellor - and next-door neighbour in Downing Street - will send a signal of his intent both to politicians and to the bond markets.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Coombs said investors are currently giving Burnham the benefit of the doubt as they await clarity on who he appoints to his top team, especially who he names as chancellor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Newsom appoints members to the foundation board, which then is responsible for determining what expenses to cover in the governor’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026
Caroline appoints me official art director of the paper chain, which means I’m going to have to do most of it and supervise the rest.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
In 1997, Bycel was appointed president of the University of West Los Angeles, and in 2001 he moved to Washington to serve as the vice president of Common Cause, the national advocacy group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Senator Darline Graham, appointed after the death of her brother Lindsey Graham, is seeking the Republican nomination for a full term with Trump's endorsement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Newly minted incumbent Darline Graham, the sister of Lindsey, was appointed to the seat initially as a placeholder.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Cook was appointed to the Fed’s board in 2022 by President Joe Biden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
In the aftermath, a black alderman was appointed by the city council to take Washington’s place, but his tenure was relatively short.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
The Northern Ireland secretary of state is the "appointing minister" of the NIHRC.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Lula said that with elections looming, he was not receiving new ambassadors from any country, and blamed Washington for lagging in appointing someone.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The judge would then review his medical and psychological evidence with a view to appointing an investigator.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The company announced a leadership change yesterday, appointing Skye Anderson as U.S. business president.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Groves originally had considered appointing Lawrence to head the bomb lab but decided to leave him in place overseeing the crucial electromagnetic separation work.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
