noun
device
dih-VYS
noun
1
A piece of equipment, especially electronic or mechanical, built to perform a specific job.
"She charges her phone and her other devices overnight."
"The app works on any device with a modern web browser."
2
A scheme or trick, often meant to deceive or gain advantage.
"His apology looked less like remorse and more like a device to win sympathy."
3
A technique a writer or speaker uses deliberately to create an effect, such as a rhetorical or literary device.
"Repetition is a simple but powerful literary device."
How to Use Device
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMost commonly a gadget or piece of equipment, but also a clever plan or a technique used in writing or speech.
Common pairings
electronic device
mobile device
literary device
explosive device
Word Forms
devices plural
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She charges her phone and her other _____ overnight.
Etymology
From Old French devis/devise, ultimately from Latin dīvidere, "to divide" — the sense shifted from "a division or plan" to "a designed thing" over centuries.