appurtenance
noun
ap·pur·te·nance
ə-ˈpərt-nən(t)s 
-ˈpər-tə-nən(t)s
1
appurtenances plural
: accessory objects
the appurtenances of wealth
2
law
: an incidental right (such as a right-of-way) attached to a principal property right and passing in possession with it
3
: a subordinate part or adjunct
The appurtenance of welcome is fashion and ceremony.—
William Shakespeare
William ShakespeareExamples of appurtenance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Spying was an appurtenance of monarchy, and therefore incompatible with republican government.
—James Santel, The Atlantic, 8 May 2025
The preliminary video, though light on detail or a sense of the building’s height or bulk, shows a tower said to be about 300 feet high at 124-125 White Street with all the usual corporate appurtenances.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 24 Jan. 2025
Here was the Kraton and its cosmic appurtenances, including eight gates of symbolic significance.
—Scott Mowbray Amrita Chandradas, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
The idea is to let people make their small transactions by exchanging information from those chips via their smartphones and other appurtenances.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 May 2012
Yet, in trying to save her from being an appurtenance of Voltaire’s, her biographer disembodies her a little.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
Between them, these works consumed perhaps a year of Vermeer’s labor—a scrupulous rendering of bourgeois appurtenances and a faithful imagining of internal lives, which might better be described as an act of devotion.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023
From them lamps projected at rakish angles, their bases embedded in the other appurtenances and items needed to convert dormitory rooms into homes-away-from home.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2019
Or, underneath the cultural appurtenances of Hawaiian life, were the islanders behaving rationally and pragmatically, much as any other people might?
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
James Santel, The Atlantic, 8 May 2025
The preliminary video, though light on detail or a sense of the building’s height or bulk, shows a tower said to be about 300 feet high at 124-125 White Street with all the usual corporate appurtenances.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 24 Jan. 2025
Here was the Kraton and its cosmic appurtenances, including eight gates of symbolic significance.
—Scott Mowbray Amrita Chandradas, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
The idea is to let people make their small transactions by exchanging information from those chips via their smartphones and other appurtenances.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 May 2012
Yet, in trying to save her from being an appurtenance of Voltaire’s, her biographer disembodies her a little.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
Between them, these works consumed perhaps a year of Vermeer’s labor—a scrupulous rendering of bourgeois appurtenances and a faithful imagining of internal lives, which might better be described as an act of devotion.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023
From them lamps projected at rakish angles, their bases embedded in the other appurtenances and items needed to convert dormitory rooms into homes-away-from home.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2019
Or, underneath the cultural appurtenances of Hawaiian life, were the islanders behaving rationally and pragmatically, much as any other people might?
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Appurtenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appurtenance. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
appurtenance
noun
ap·pur·te·nance
ə-ˈpərt-ᵊn-əns
: property (as an outbuilding or fixture) or a property right (as a right-of-way) that is incidental to a principal property and that passes with the principal property upon sale or transfer
Etymology
Anglo-French apurtenance, alteration of Old French apartenance, from apartenant appurtenant
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share