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appliance

UK/əˈplaɪ.əns/US/əˈplaɪ.əns/
nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,051 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: appliances

An appliance is a machine made for one household job. A kitchen appliance, white appliances, an energy-efficient appliance.

The trade calls the big ones white goods, and each appliance sold in Europe carries an energy label from A to G. In British fire services an appliance is a fire engine, which is why the news says four appliances attended.

Khanali89 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Definitions of appliance

  1. 1nounapplianceA machine made for one household job.C1

    “The kitchen comes with all the major appliances, including a fridge, oven and dishwasher.”

appliance is a machine.

Where it comes from

From apply plus -ance, recorded from the 1560s, originally meaning the act of applying something.

  1. Old French

    applier

  2. Middle English

    aplien

  3. English

    apply

  4. English, today

    appliance

Recorded since the 1560s. From the English apply + ance. apply comes from Middle English aplien, from Old French applier. See applicant, ply.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Word Building

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appliance in the wild

  • A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation.

    Major appliance

  • Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were traditionally white in color, although a variety of colors are now available.

    Major appliance

  • The development of self-contained electric and gas-powered appliances, an American innovation, emerged in the early 20th century.

    Home appliance

  • By the 1980s, the appliance industry was booming, leading to mergers and antitrust legislation.

    Home appliance

  • Treatment may require several months to a few years and entails using dental braces and other appliances to gradually adjust tooth position and jaw alignment.

    Orthodontics

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the applier family

apply

appliance — used about once every 4,196 pages · #9,051 · point at the bar for the others