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

This interactive balance board connects to a free app where your body becomes the controller, using movement to play engaging games. —Tory Johnson, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026

If these current prices hold, drivers should soon start to see prices dropping at the pump, says Patrick De Haan, chief petroleum analyst at the app Gasbuddy. —Camila Domonoske, NPR, 17 Apr. 2026

There is also a free app that provides highway closures due to flooding and weather alerts from across the state. —Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 17 Apr. 2026

Newly released Fire Sticks will not support the sideloading of Android apps or any other software from outside Amazon’s official app store. —Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 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