appointment

[uh-point-muhnt]

noun

1. a fixed mutual agreement for a meeting; engagement.

   We made an appointment to meet again.

   Synonyms: date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

2. a meeting set for a specific time or place.

   I'm late for my appointment.

   Synonyms: date, tryst, rendezvous, assignation

3. the act of appointing, designating, or placing in office.

   to fill a vacancy by appointment.

4. an office, position, or the like, to which a person is appointed.

   He received his appointment as ambassador to Italy.

5. Usually appointments. equipment, furnishings, or accouterments.

6. appointments, accouterments for a soldier or a horse.

7. Manège.,  a horse-show class in which the contestant need not be a member of a hunt but must wear regulation hunt livery.

8. Archaic.,  decree; ordinance.

appointment

/ əˈpɔɪntmənt /

noun

1. an arrangement to meet a person or be at a place at a certain time

2. the act of placing in a job or position

3. the person who receives such a job or position

4. the job or position to which such a person is appointed

5. (usually plural) a fixture or fitting

6. property law nomination to an interest in property under a deed or will

Other Word Forms

• proappointment adjective
• reappointment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of appointment¹

1375–1425; late Middle English apoynt ( e ) ment < Middle French ap ( p ) ointement. See appoint, -ment

Idioms and Phrases

see make an appointment.

Synonym Study

Appointment, office, post, station all refer to kinds of duty or employment. Appointment refers to a position to which one is assigned, as by a high government official. Office often suggests a position of trust or authority. Post is usually restricted to a military or other public position, as of a diplomat, although it may also refer to a teaching position. Both post and station may refer to the place where a person is assigned to work.

Example Sentences

Drip by drip, appointments were fed out through the afternoon.

From BBC

Mahmood's appointment is a signal that the government sees dealing with illegal immigration and asylum as one of its biggest priorities.

From BBC

The health minister said Jennifer Welsh's appointment came at a time of "immense challenge and opportunity".

From BBC

Barber Lino Cadel said he had been "back-to-back" with appointments in the run-up to term time.

From BBC

The rapper was four months pregnant and had an appointment on the day of the incident — Feb. 24, 2018.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• approval 
• certification 
• choice 
• designation 
• election 
• nomination 
• selection