appointment

[ uh-point-muhnt ]

noun

1. a fixed mutual agreement for a meeting; engagement:

   We made an appointment to meet again.

   Synonyms: date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

2. a meeting set for a specific time or place:

   I'm late for my appointment.

   Synonyms: date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

3. the act of appointing, designating, or placing in office:

   to fill a vacancy by appointment.

4. an office, position, or the like, to which a person is appointed:

   He received his appointment as ambassador to Italy.

5. Usually appointments. equipment, furnishings, or accouterments.
6. appointments, accouterments for a soldier or a horse.
7. Manège. a horse-show class in which the contestant need not be a member of a hunt but must wear regulation hunt livery. Compare Corinthian ( def 9 ).
8. Archaic. decree; ordinance.

appointment

/ əˈpɔɪntmənt /

noun

1. an arrangement to meet a person or be at a place at a certain time
2. the act of placing in a job or position
3. the person who receives such a job or position
4. the job or position to which such a person is appointed
5. usually plural a fixture or fitting
6. property law nomination to an interest in property under a deed or will

Other Words From

• proap·pointment adjective
• reap·pointment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of appointment¹

1375–1425; late Middle English apoynt ( e ) ment < Middle French ap ( p ) ointement. See appoint, -ment

Idioms and Phrases

see make an appointment .

Synonym Study

Appointment, office, post, station all refer to kinds of duty or employment. Appointment refers to a position to which one is assigned, as by a high government official. Office often suggests a position of trust or authority. Post is usually restricted to a military or other public position, as of a diplomat, although it may also refer to a teaching position. Both post and station may refer to the place where a person is assigned to work.

Example Sentences

Thune told South Dakota reporters Wednesday that he would prefer to avoid a recess appointment but did not rule it out.

From Los Angeles Times

Hence Trump’s cynical strategy to slip him into position through a recess appointment, which would insulate him from a full background investigation and an excoriating examination by Democrats.

From Los Angeles Times

There could also be a constitutional crisis over the mere appointment of figures like Gaetz and Hegseth if Trump, as he has reportedly considered doing, tries to install them in the Cabinet during congressional “recesses” rather than through the traditional confirmation process.

From Slate

Mr Jones said the post had been advertised three times but so far it had "not been possible to make a permanent appointment" and arrangements to appoint a head teacher on a temporary basis were under way.

From BBC

“Everyone else looked at AG as if they were applying for a judicial appointment. They talked about their vaunted legal theories and constitutional bulls**t. Gaetz was the only one who said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go over there and start cuttin’ f***in’ heads.’”

From Salon

Related Words

• approval
• certification
• choice
• designation
• election
• nomination
• selection