In the words of one Little Mermaid, “I’ve got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty.” It would have been on-theme (though perhaps a bit clunky) for the aquatic princess to include in her siren song the word contraption. Synonymous with both gadget and gizmo, and widget too, in referring to mechanical and electronic devices, contraption is also one of a raft of terms people reach for when talking about various human-made bits and bobs, whether mechanical or not. (It's thought to have possibly been formed as a blend of contrivance, trap, and invention.) Want more thingamabob words? Try doohickey, thingamajig, dingus, or doodad.
The people wondered how the contraption worked.
built a contraption for automatically buttering toast
Recent Examples on the WebAt one session, Johnson broke out a new hitting contraption attached to a stationary ball.—Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 1 June 2024 The cap looks rather unassuming, a plastic cylindrical attachment that is screwed onto the end of the blower, but its results are notable, reducing the contraption’s overall noise by 37%.—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 18 May 2024 The slick contraption could decipher a code so small that it could be printed on a pack of chewing gum.—Kovie Biakolo, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 May 2024 As the contraption sank, a rare deep-sea creature mistook it for a meal.—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 16 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for contraption
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contraption.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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