equip
verb (used with object)
to supply with whatever gear or apparatus is needed for use or for any undertaking; fit out, as a ship or army.
Showing results for equip.
Search instead for
to equip.
equip
1 American
[ih-kwip]
/ ɪˈkwɪp /
verb (used with object)
-
equips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
equipped,
past participle, past
-
equipping
present participle
-
to supply with whatever gear or apparatus is needed for use or for any undertaking; fit out, as a ship or army.
They spent several thousand dollars to equip their boat.
-
to provide with intellectual or emotional resources; prepare.
Education and travel have equipped her to deal with all sorts of people.
-
to dress; array.
He equipped himself in all his finery.
equip.
2
American
abbreviation
equip
British
/ ɪˈkwɪp /
verb
-
to furnish with (necessary supplies, etc)
-
(usually passive) to provide with abilities, understanding, etc
her son was never equipped to be a scholar
-
to dress out; attire
Synonym Usage
See furnish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
equipsimple
-
equipssimple
-
have equippedperfect
-
has equippedperfect
-
am equippingprogressive
-
are equippingprogressive
-
is equippingprogressive
-
have been equippingperfect progressive
-
has been equippingperfect progressive
Past
-
equippedsimple
-
had equippedperfect
-
was equippingprogressive
-
were equippingprogressive
-
had been equippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of equip
First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French equiper, Old French esquiper “to fit out, equip,” probably from Old Norse skipa “to put in order, arrange, man (a ship)”
Explanation
To equip means to provide something needed for a particular purpose. If you’re planning a trip to the Arctic, you should equip yourself with warm clothes, tents, and two-way radios. You might want to equip someone with an ice axe for ice climbing and a diving watch for underwater excursions. The ice axe or the diving watch is their equipment. Equip can also be used in a more figurative sense. If you are supposed to write computer programs but have never worked with a computer, you might say that you are not equipped for that. On a really bad day, it might feel like people are not equipped to deal with each other politely.
Vocabulary lists containing equip
Chapter 24: World War I
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
President Obama's second inaugural address
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Vocabulary Review, Unit 6
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
This program aims to equip physicians with better ways to identify and intervene in harmful biological changes before they develop into disease or advance into conditions that are difficult to treat.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
Thales also won orders from Eutelsat to equip satellites to be used in Europe's Iris2 communications system.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
He also said his lifelong training in martial arts helped equip him to step in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Sir Tim said: "It is our responsibility to equip the next generation with the tools to protect nature so it doesn't become history."
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Pretty girls in their best summer dresses begged for funds with which to equip troops, and they blushed happily at the enthusiastic cheers of the young men for whose cause they pled.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
“But we can’t facilitate. We can educate. We can navigate. We can equip. We’ve got an entire educational library. July 1 didn’t just get here and go, ‘Okay, you figure this out.’
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2021
The problem is simple: The models are being built faster than the science that equips us to understand their internal workings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Half of the Helios campus is leased to CoreWeave, which equips it, positioning Galaxy to capitalize on AI demand.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
The program equips families with books and technology like mobile hotspots.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
“We want to be an uncommon transformational program that teaches and equips young women for life beyond UCLA,” said Close.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2025
When that is Page 52 done, in the great Council of the nation one of the chiefs, perhaps the father or some near relation of the candidate, equips the youth with shield and spear.
From Theodoric the Goth Barbarian Champion of Civilisation by Thomas Hodgkin
"The ECB has equipped itself with increasingly flexible tools," Frederik Ducrozet, head of strategy and macroeconomic research at Pictet Wealth Management, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Alphabet’s capital needs present another challenge it is relatively well equipped to overcome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The findings suggest that immature neurons in resilient brains may be better equipped to withstand these harmful conditions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
Some clones develop changes that help them withstand cancer treatments, while others become better equipped to invade surrounding tissues and spread to other parts of the body.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
“This thing is equipped with several filters. It stands to reason that one of them is anti-shield. Let’s try it out, shall we?”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Australia is boosting its undersea warfare capability by equipping its Ghost Shark autonomous submarine with "swarms" of aerial drones and sea mines, its defence ministry said Monday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
"You have built resilience across our public services, businesses and communities, equipping us all to prosper in our ever-evolving digital world," the monarch added.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
She supports equipping immigrant agents with training to enforce the law professionally and rejects enforcement tactics that “undermine public trust and confidence in our institutions.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Generative A.I. certainly has the potential to worsen pandemic conspiracy theories by equipping them with highly convincing fabricated evidence.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
When the cost of caring for, feeding, and equipping the animals was added, it became more economical for people living in cities to rent horses from livery stables, much as people rent cars today.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
