What does "appoint" mean?
To set, fix or determine (a time or place for something such as a meeting, or the meeting itself) by authority or agreement.
Appoint
/əˈpɔɪnt/ verb
verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To set, fix or determine (a time or place for something such as a meeting, or the meeting itself) by authority or agreement.
- Grammar: appoint is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: nominate, designate, a single, accouter.
- Useful contrasts: drawn match, deposing, dethroning.
- Usage evidence: The committee met and discussed whom to appoint to the post.
How to use "appoint"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "appoint" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "appoint" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "appoint" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "appoint" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "appoint" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "nominate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "appoint", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To set, fix or determine (a time or place for something such as a meeting, or the meeting itself) by authority or agreement. transitive
"His Royal Highness called to pay his respects to her Majesty; but, from the unexpected nature of his visit, her Majesty was not in a state then to receive him; but soon after sent a letter to Prince Leopold, to appoint one o'clock this day for an interview."
- 2 furnish wordnet
- 3 To name (someone to a post or role). transitive
"Aaron and his shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service."
- 4 create and charge with a task or function wordnet
- 5 To furnish or equip (a place) completely; to provide with all the equipment or furnishings necessary; to fit out. transitive
"It was a handsome old stucco hall, very elegantly appointed, for Winter was a bachelor and prided himself on his style; but the place was beset by collieries."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 assign a duty, responsibility or obligation to wordnet
- 7 To equip (someone) with (something); to assign (someone) authoritatively (some equipment). transitive
"after mature Deliberation, he appointed them a Ship of seventy Tons,"
- 8 To fix the disposition of (property) by designating someone to take use of (it). transitive
"If the donee of a power appoint the fund to one of the objects of the power, under an understanding that the latter is to lend the fund to tho former, although on good security, the appointment is bad."
- 9 To fix with power or firmness by decree or command; to ordain or establish. obsolete, transitive
"When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:"
- 10 To resolve; to determine; to ordain. intransitive, obsolete
"For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel."
Antonyms
Example
"The committee met and discussed whom to appoint to the post."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "appoint"?
Common synonyms include: nominate, designate, a single, accouter, accredit, agenize.
How do you use "appoint" in a sentence?
The committee met and discussed whom to appoint to the post.
How do you pronounce "appoint"?
Pronounced /əˈpɔɪnt/.
Etymology
From Middle English apointen, borrowed from Old French apointier (“to prepare, arrange, lean, place”) (French appointer (“to give a salary, refer a cause”)), from Late Latin appunctō (“to bring back to the point, restore, to fix the point in a controversy, or the points in an agreement”); Latin ad + punctum (“a point”). See point.