What does "device" mean?
Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
Device
/dɪˈvaɪs/ noun
noun ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
- Grammar: device is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: ability, achievement, action, actuator.
- Useful contrasts: direct speech, plain language.
- Usage evidence: I would like batteries for this device.
How to use "device"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "device" 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 "device" 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 "device" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "device" 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 "device" is acting as noun 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 "ability" 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 "device", 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
Noun
- 1 Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
"1949. Geneva Convention on Road Traffic Chapter VI. Provisions Applicable to Cycles in International Traffic Every cycle shall be equipped with: … (b) an audible warning device consisting of a bell …"
- 2 any clever maneuver wordnet
- 3 A peripheral device; an item of hardware.
- 4 an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose wordnet
- 5 A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice. 1602, Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor. "This is our device,/ That Falstaff at that oak shall meet with us."
"His device is against Babylon, to destroy it."
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 an emblematic design (especially in heraldry) wordnet
- 7 An improvised explosive device, home-made bomb Ireland
"Inflammable material is planted in my head / It's a suspect device that's left 2000 dead"
- 8 any ornamental pattern or design (as in embroidery) wordnet
- 9 A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device. rhetoric
"1736. O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey. The Documentary History of the State of New York Chapter I, Article III: Enumeration of the Indian Tribes. The devices of these savages are the serpent, the Deer, and the Small Acorn."
- 10 something in an artistic work designed to achieve a particular effect wordnet
- 11 A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device. (heraldry) A motto, emblem, or other mark used to distinguish the bearer from others. A device differs from a badge or cognizance primarily as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of the same house successively.; A motto, emblem, or other mark used to distinguish the bearer from others. A device differs from a badge or cognizance primarily as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of the same house successively. rhetoric
- 12 Power of devising; invention; contrivance. archaic
"Moreover I must have instruments of mine own device, weighty, and exceeding costly"
- 13 An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark.
- 14 An image or logo denoting official or proprietary authority or provenience.
"Prior to the issuance of the first stamps, letters accepted by postmasters for dispatch were marked "Paid" by means of pen and ink or hand stamps of various designs. … To facilitate the handling of mail matter, some postmasters provided special stamps or devices for use on letters as evidence of the prepayment of postage."
- 15 Any specific class of wordplay element in a cryptic crossword.
"These eight devices, and combinations thereof, account for nearly every kind of wordplay you will encounter in cryptic crosswords."
- 16 A spectacle or show. obsolete
"It will be out of faſhion to weare ſwords, / Maſques, and devices welcome, I ſalute you […]"
- 17 Opinion; decision. obsolete
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
direct speechplain language
Example
"I would like batteries for this device."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "device"?
Common synonyms include: ability, achievement, action, actuator, ad hoc measure, agency.
How do you use "device" in a sentence?
I would like batteries for this device.
How do you pronounce "device"?
Pronounced /dɪˈvaɪs/.
Etymology
From Middle English devis, devise, devyce, devys, devyse, from Old French devis and devise, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō (“to divide”). Doublet of devise (noun).