configure

verb

con·​fig·​ure kən-ˈfi-gyər 

especially British -ˈfi-gə

configured; configuring

transitive verb

: to set up for operation especially in a particular way

a fighter plane configured for the Malaysian air force

Examples of configure in a Sentence

The instructions tell you how to configure the kit correctly.

The plane is configured for military use.

Recent Examples on the Web

It’s currently configured to combine most of the African American and Caribbean American communities in Broward and Palm Beach counties into one district. —Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026

That leaves the bench to configure with spots already allocated to catcher Miguel Amaya as part of the tandem with Carson Kelly, infielder/outfielder Tyler Austin and infielder Matt Shaw, who also will get work in the outfield this spring to prepare him for a superutility role. —Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026

Operators can configure ten business-class seats or six VIP seats. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 6 Feb. 2026

Instead of programming them in an abstract coding language like Python, engineers configure the underlying circuitry. —IEEE Spectrum, 3 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English configuren (as past participle configurid) "to model on, conform to," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French configurer "to compare, form," borrowed from Latin configūrāre "to mold, shape," from con- con- + figūrāre "to shape, form, make a likeness of" — more at figure entry 2

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing configure

• pre-configure

Rhymes for configure

• disfigure
• prefigure
• figure
• reconfigure

Kids Definition

configure

verb

con·​fig·​ure kən-ˈfig-yər 

configured; configuring

: to set up for operation especially in a particular way

ships configured for observation