Search Results
Advanced Search
List Builder
Random Word

apparatus

Your apparatus is the collective equipment you use for specific purposes. For example, the apparatus used for scuba diving includes goggles, flippers, and a breathing tank, while a surgeon’s apparatus includes various scalpels and clamps. Different activities, different apparatuses.

The noun apparatus evolved from the Latin apparātus, meaning "equipment or preparation." It might refer to one item, (a breathing apparatus) or a group of items (sports apparatus). Here’s a spelling tip: often, when a word ends in -us, the plural ending changes to i — “alumnus/alumni,” “focus/foci.” However, apparatus is part of the group that doesn't change — words like “virus/viruses” or “census/censuses.” This means the plural is either apparatus or apparatuses, though the latter is more common.

DEFINITIONS OF: apparatus

n equipment designed to serve a specific function

Synonyms:: setup

Types:: show 64 types...; hide 64 types...; aerator
an apparatus for exposing something to the air (as sewage); burner
an apparatus for burning fuel (or refuse); cascade liquefier
an apparatus used to liquefy air or oxygen etc.; centrifuge, extractor, separator
an apparatus that uses centrifugal force to separate particles from a suspension; chemical reactor
an apparatus for holding substances that are undergoing a chemical reaction; condenser
an apparatus that converts vapor into liquid; copier, duplicator
apparatus that makes copies of typed, written or drawn material; electrograph
an apparatus for the electrical transmission of pictures; generator
an apparatus that produces a vapor or gas; heat pump
apparatus that extracts heat from a liquid that is at a higher temperature than its surroundings; can be used to transfer heat from a reservoir outside in order to heat a building; heliograph
an apparatus for sending telegraphic messages by using a mirror to turn the sun's rays off and on; brooder, incubator
apparatus consisting of a box designed to maintain a constant temperature by the use of a thermostat; used for chicks or premature infants; instillator
medical apparatus that puts a liquid into a cavity drop by drop; Kipp's apparatus
a laboratory apparatus for producing a gas (usually hydrogen sulfide) by the action of a liquid on a solid without heating; lighting
apparatus for supplying artificial light effects for the stage or a film; nuclear reactor, reactor
(physics) any of several kinds of apparatus that maintain and control a nuclear reaction for the production of energy or artificial elements; optical bench
apparatus for observation and measurement of optical phenomena; pendulum
an apparatus consisting of an object mounted so that it swings freely under the influence of gravity; purifier
an apparatus for removing impurities; reformer
an apparatus that reforms the molecular structure of hydrocarbons to produce richer fuel; semaphore
an apparatus for visual signaling with lights or mechanically moving arms; sequenator, sequencer
(chemistry) an apparatus that can determine the sequence of monomers in a polymer; soda fountain
an apparatus for dispensing soda water; still
an apparatus used for the distillation of liquids; consists of a vessel in which a substance is vaporized by heat and a condenser where the vapor is condensed; submersible
an apparatus intended for use under water; telegraph, telegraphy
apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code); titrator
an apparatus for performing a titration; X-ray machine
an apparatus that provides a source of X rays; atomic pile, atomic reactor, chain reactor, pile
a nuclear reactor that uses controlled nuclear fission to generate energy; backlighting
lighting from behind; bathyscape, bathyscaph, bathyscaphe
navigable deep diving vessel for underwater exploration; bathysphere
spherical deep diving apparatus (lowered by a cable) for underwater exploration; blowlamp, blowtorch, torch
a burner that mixes air and gas to produce a very hot flame; breeder reactor
a nuclear reactor that produces more fissile material than it burns; cat cracker, catalytic cracker
a chemical reactor for converting oils with high boiling points into fuels with lower boiling points in the presence of a catalyst; Coffey still
a still consisting of an apparatus for the fractional distillation of ethanol from fermentation on an industrial scale; diving bell
diving apparatus for underwater work; has an open bottom and is supplied with compressed air; facsimile, facsimile machine, fax
duplicator that transmits the copy by wire or radio; fast reactor
nuclear reactor in which nuclear fissions are caused by fast neutrons because little or no moderator is used; fluoroscope, roentgenoscope
an X-ray machine that combines an X-ray source and a fluorescent screen to enable direct observation; Foucault pendulum
pendulum with a long wire; can swing in any direction; the change in the swing plane demonstrates the earth's rotation; gas bracket
a pipe with one or more burners projecting from a wall; gas burner, gas jet
burner such that combustible gas issues from a nozzle to form a steady flame; gas-cooled reactor
a nuclear reactor using gas as a coolant; hectograph, heliotype
duplicator consisting of a gelatin plate from which ink can be taken to make a copy; haematocrit, hematocrit
a measuring instrument to determine (usually by centrifugation) the relative amounts of corpuscles and plasma in the blood; Liebig condenser
a condenser: during distillation the vapor passes through a tube that is cooled by water; liquid metal reactor
a nuclear reactor using liquid metal as a coolant; lithograph, lithograph machine
duplicator that prints by lithography; a flat surface (of stone or metal) is treated to absorb or repel ink in the desired pattern; metronome
clicking pendulum indicates the exact tempo of a piece of music; Roneo, Roneograph, mimeo, mimeograph, mimeograph machine
a rotary duplicator that uses a stencil through which ink is pressed (trade mark Roneo); minisub, minisubmarine
submersible vessel for one or two persons; for naval operations or underwater exploration; photocopier
a copier that uses photographic methods of making copies; Photostat, Photostat machine
a duplicating machine that makes quick positive or negative copies directly on the surface of prepared paper; compound pendulum, physical pendulum
pendulum consisting of an actual object allowed to rotate freely around a horizontal axis; reflux condenser
condenser such that vapor over a boiling liquid is condensed and flows back into the vessel to prevent its contents from boiling dry; scrubber
a purifier that removes impurities from a gas; simple pendulum
a hypothetical pendulum suspended by a weightless frictionless thread of constant length; thermal reactor
a nuclear reactor in which nuclear fissions are caused by neutrons that are slowed down by a moderator; fusion reactor, thermonuclear reactor
a nuclear reactor that uses controlled nuclear fusion to generate energy; tomograph
X-ray machine in which a computer builds a detailed image of a particular plane through an object from multiple X-ray measurements; ultracentrifuge
a high speed centrifuge used to determine the relative molecular masses of large molecules in high polymers and proteins; water-cooled reactor
nuclear reactor using water as a coolant; Xerox, Xerox machine, xerographic copier
a duplicator (trade mark Xerox) that copies graphic matter by the action of light on an electrically charged photoconductive insulating surface in which the latent image is developed with a resinous powder

Type of:: equipment
an instrumentality needed for an undertaking or to perform a service

n (anatomy) a group of body parts that work together to perform a given function

“the breathing apparatus”

Types:: auditory apparatus
all of the components of the organ of hearing including the outer and middle and inner ears

Type of:: body part
any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity

Launch

WORD FAMILY

USAGE EXAMPLES