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Synonyms

app

1 American  
[ap] / æp /

noun

  1. Digital Technology. a software application, often a small, specialized program for mobile devices.

    You’ll find numerous free photo editing apps in the app store on your smartphone.

    The word processing app that comes with the laptop isn’t adequate for our publishing needs.

  2. an application; a form to be filled out by an applicant.

    I'm working on my college apps.
app 2 American  
[ap] / æp /

noun

  1. Informal. an appetizer served before a meal.

app. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. apparatus.

  2. apparent.

  3. appendix.

  4. applied.

  5. appointed.

  6. approved.

  7. approximate.

app British  
/ æp /

noun

  1. informal computing short for application program

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of app1

First recorded in 1985–90; shortening of application ( def. )

Origin of app2

By shortening

Explanation

An app is a program that's designed to be used on your computer, tablet, or mobile phone. If you don't have a weather app, how will you know whether or not to bring your raincoat? App is short for application. You can use it for any kind of computer application (like word processing or spreadsheets), but it usually refers to smartphones. If you have one, you've also got apps, for things like maps, banking, entertainment, to-do lists, and photo editing. Every so often, you'll also hear someone use app as shorthand for a restaurant appetizer: "I'd like to order some apps for the table, when you have a sec!"

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

We spent 12 hours at the ER and, the whole time, I had my Notes app out and was just writing down everything I saw.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

“Presence” and his television show “Mosaic” utilized unique storytelling formats, with the latter co-released as an app that allowed users to choose which perspective the story was told from.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026

Since then, the company’s business model has shifted restlessly, from a retail loyalty-points app to a technical-infrastructure play.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Grayscale points to China’s WeChat as an implementation of the “everything” app that X looks to follow, and may signal the direction companies like Meta and PayPal take with their offerings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

I’ve been playing with the camera app and it’s pretty good.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

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.