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What exactly is a contraption?
In the words of one Little Mermaid, “I’ve got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty.” It would have been on-theme (though perhaps a bit clunky) for the aquatic princess to include in her siren song the word contraption. Synonymous with both gadget and gizmo, and widget too, in referring to mechanical and electronic devices, contraption is also one of a raft of terms people reach for when talking about various human-made bits and bobs, whether mechanical or not. (It's thought to have possibly been formed as a blend of contrivance, trap, and invention.) Want more thingamabob words? Try doohickey, thingamajig, dingus, or doodad.
Synonyms
Examples of contraption in a Sentence
David E. Sanger, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
In real life, the heist went down almost exactly as depicted in the film, with a contraption built in a weapons facility known as Churchill’s Toyshop, Lewis says.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024
The clip then quickly cuts to an image of Swift screaming as she’s confined to a straight jacket with an intricate contraption attached to her head.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024
Most of these contraptions cost well over $1,000, but the Overland Vehicle Systems TMBK 3-Person Rooftop Tent getting rave reviews on Amazon is on sale for $900 right now — that’s $200 off!
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2024
Then comes the moment Stewart had warned me about: the chin-up competition on a free-standing contraption set up on the deck.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 14 Feb. 2024
Last Exit'' is a glorious symphony of the high and the low, of satirical shots at unions and sweet ruminations on the humiliations of adolescence (as evidenced by Lisa, who copes with a medieval mouth contraption), and, of course, all those ''D'oh!''s.
—EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
The Voyager records can be played under the stylus of a phonograph-like contraption, if extraterrestrials ever intercept them.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
The closest thing the story has to villains (other than Willy Wonka himself) are the misbehaved children who fall victim to Wonka’s contraptions, and Dahl clearly expects the reader to be greatly amused by their suffering.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contraption.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near contraption
Cite this Entry
“Contraption.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contraption. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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contraption
noun
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