device

de·vice

noun \di-ˈvīs\

Definition of DEVICE

1

: something devised or contrived: as

a (1) : plan, procedure, technique (2) : a scheme to deceive : stratagem, trick

b : something fanciful, elaborate, or intricate in design

c : something (as a figure of speech) in a literary work designed to achieve a particular artistic effect

d archaic : masque, spectacle

e : a conventional stage practice or means (as a stage whisper) used to achieve a particular dramatic effect

f : a piece of equipment or a mechanism designed to serve a special purpose or perform a special function <an electronic device>

2

: desire, inclination <left to my own devices>

3

: an emblematic design used especially as a heraldic bearing

Examples of DEVICE

1. The store sells TVs, VCRs, and other electronic devices.
2. agreeing to dismantle all nuclear devices
3. a useful mnemonic device for remembering the names of the planets
4. The company's method of tracking expenses is just a device to make it seem more profitable.

Origin of DEVICE

Middle English devis, devise, from Anglo-French, division, plan, from deviser to divide, regulate, tell — more at devise

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to DEVICE

Synonyms

artifice, trick, dodge, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, wile

Related Words

bluff, end run, feint; cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery; fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle; blind, front, smoke screen

Near Antonyms

allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, distaste; detachment, impartiality, neutrality, objectivity; apathy, disinterestedness, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

Rhymes with DEVICE

advice, allspice, black ice, Brandeis, bride-price, brown rice, concise, cut ice, cut-price, deice, dry ice, entice, excise, fried rice, list price, make nice, no dice, off-price, on ice, pack ice, precise, shelf ice, strike price, white rice, wild rice

de·vice

noun \di-ˈvīs\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of DEVICE

: a piece of equipment or a mechanism designed to serve a special purpose or perform a special function