device

Plural: devices

Noun

• Something created or adapted for a specific purpose.
• an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose
  • "the device is small enough to wear on your wrist"
  • "a device intended to conserve water"
• something in an artistic work designed to achieve a particular effect
• any clever maneuver
  • "he would stoop to any device to win a point"
• any ornamental pattern or design (as in embroidery)
• an emblematic design (especially in heraldry)
  • "he was recognized by the device on his shield"
• Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
• A peripheral device; an item of hardware.
• A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice.
• An improvised explosive device, home-made bomb
• A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device.
• A motto, emblem, or other mark used to distinguish the bearer from others. A device differs from a badge or cognizance primarily as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of the same house successively.
• Power of devising; invention; contrivance.
• An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark.
• An image or logo denoting official or proprietary authority or provenience.
• Any specific class of wordplay element in a cryptic crossword.
• A spectacle or show.
• Opinion; decision.

Examples

• A well-placed ’S’ is a clever device for opening up new word possibilities in Scrabble.

Synonyms

gimmick, twist, apparatus, appliance, artifice, contrivance, design, device, equipment, gadget, invention, project, scheme, stratagem

Related Words

instrument, tool