app

1 of 2

noun

ˈap 

1

: application sense 3

a word processing app

especially : an application designed for a mobile device (such as a smartphone)

Health-insurance companies and government officials alike are drawn to the ability of smartphone apps to reach tough-to-access patients, to effect long-term lifestyle changes, and to do it all at a very low cost.

—Marcellus Hall

see also killer app

2

informal : appetizer

… the hidden video monitors that tell the cooks when the V.I.P.'s have finished their apps …

—Thomas McNamee

app

2 of 2

abbreviation

1

apparatus

2

appendix

3

appliance

Examples of app in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Additionally, the workers must hand over any communications — including self-deleting texts from apps such as Signal — related to the office’s efforts to block noncitizen voting. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2026

The original iPhone launched without copy and paste, third-party apps or 3G, and BlackBerry users could fairly call it a step backward. — Aditi Sinha, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026

With this model, the app's features are fairly bare-bones but useful. — Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 30 Oct. 2026

In the third quarter, Amazon poured funds into expanding its AI app building service, Amazon Bedrock . — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1981, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing app

• killer app

Rhymes for app

• cap
• chap
• clap
• crap
• flap
• frap
• gap
• hap
• lap
• nap
• nappe
• pap

Kids Definition

app

noun

ˈap

1

: application sense 6

2

informal : appetizer

Medical Definition

app

1 of 2 abbreviation

appendix

APP

2 of 2 abbreviation

amyloid precursor protein

Legal Definition

App

abbreviation

Appeals