appliance
An appliance is a tool or device that performs a certain job. Your toaster is an appliance, and so is your dishwasher. Your dog? Not so much.
Most modern homes are full of appliances that perform various useful tasks — or help you perform them. A hairdryer is an appliance that dries your hair, and a television is an appliance that offers hours of mindless entertainment. The earliest meaning of the word was "action of putting into use," from the verb apply, with its Latin root, applicare, which figuratively means "devote oneself to" or "give attention."
Definitions of appliance
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a small mechanical device or gadget
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synonyms:
contraption, contrivance, convenience, gadget, gismo, gizmo, widget
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types:
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gadgetry
appliances collectively
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gimbal
an appliance that allows an object (such as a ship's compass) to remain horizontal even as its support tips
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injector
a contrivance for injecting (e.g., water into the boiler of a steam engine or particles into an accelerator etc.)
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mod con
modern convenience; the appliances and conveniences characteristic of a modern house
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type of:
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device
an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose
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durable goods for home or office use
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types:
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drier, dryer
an appliance that removes moisture
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home appliance, household appliance
an appliance that does a particular job in the home
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clothes drier, clothes dryer
a dryer that dries clothes wet from washing
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curling iron
a cylindrical metal home appliance that heats a lock of hair that has been curled around it
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blow drier, blow dryer, hair drier, hair dryer, hand blower
a hand-held electric blower that can blow warm air onto the hair; used for styling hair
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iron, smoothing iron
home appliance consisting of a flat metal base that is heated and used to smooth cloth
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kitchen appliance
a home appliance used in preparing food
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sewing machine
a textile machine used as a home appliance for sewing
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pants presser, trouser press
a home appliance in which trousers can be hung and the wrinkles pressed out
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vacuum, vacuum cleaner
an electrical home appliance that cleans by suction
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white goods
large electrical home appliances (refrigerators or washing machines etc.) that are typically finished in white enamel
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type of:
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consumer durables, durable goods, durables
consumer goods that are not destroyed by use
Word Family
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