apparatus
Americannoun
plural
apparatus, apparatuses-
a group or combination of instruments, machinery, tools, materials, etc., having a particular function or intended for a specific use.
Our town has excellent fire-fighting apparatus.
-
any complex instrument or mechanism for a particular purpose.
- Synonyms:
- contrivance, contraption, device, appliance, machine
-
any system or systematic organization of activities, functions, processes, etc., directed toward a specific goal.
the apparatus of government; espionage apparatus.
-
Physiology. a group of structurally different organs working together in the performance of a particular function.
the digestive apparatus.
noun
-
a collection of instruments, machines, tools, parts, or other equipment used for a particular purpose
-
a machine having a specific function
breathing apparatus
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the means by which something operates; organization
the apparatus of government
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anatomy any group of organs having a specific function
Usage
Plural word for apparatus The plural form of apparatus can be either apparatus or apparatuses. The appropriate plural form depends on whether the term is considered to be a mass (uncountable) noun (like air or rice) or a count noun (like apple or car). When used as a mass noun, the correct plural form is apparatus, as in The lab apparatus must be removed before the lab can be painted. When used as a count noun, the correct plural form is apparatuses, as in The ship is equipped with apparatuses for security, cargo loading, and more. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -s are also formed the same way, such as pass/passes, lotus/lotuses, and dress/dresses. In some nouns that end in -us that are derived from Latin, the irregular plural ending -i may be used instead, as in fungus/fungi or cactus/cacti. These nouns are considered irregular nouns.However, this ending is not valid for apparatus. Apparati would be an invalid plural for apparatus.
Etymology
Origin of apparatus
1620–30; < Latin apparātus equipment, originally the act of equipping, preparation, equivalent to apparā ( re ) to prepare ( ap- ap- 1 + parāre; prepare ) + -tus suffix of v. action
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.
Iran’s sprawling security apparatus isn’t solely held together by ideology.
Sources told the BBC that the Hamas Interior Ministry has restructured its executive apparatus, appointing new police directors, setting up temporary headquarters and detention facilities and deploying new security patrols.
From BBC
And the apparatus that Cooke built to sell those bonds—a network of thousands of agents throughout the U.S. and Europe—became the blueprint for the modern investment bank.
From Barron's
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expected to be part of the event’s “overall security apparatus,” according to comments by the agency’s acting director, Todd Lyons, at a congressional hearing in February.
From Los Angeles Times
The targeting clearly shows a strategy to degrade the regime’s apparatus of repression, but risks harming the very prisoners it is intended to empower, analysts said.
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.
