Meaning & use
device
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Meanings
nouncountable
A machine, tool or small piece of equipment made for a particular job.
Grammar: Countable: a device, several devices.
Patterns
- a device for doing something
- a device that does something
This device measures the amount of sugar in your blood.
She plugged the charging device into the wall.
The shop sells handy devices for peeling apples.
nouncountablecomputing
An electronic gadget such as a phone, tablet or laptop that connects to the internet.
Grammar: Often used in technology: mobile device, smart device.
Patterns
- a mobile device
- on your device
You can read the book on any device.
Please turn off your devices before the show starts.
The app works on both phones and tablets, and on other devices.
nouncountabletechnical
A trick or technique used to produce a particular effect, especially in writing or speech.
Grammar: Often a literary device or a rhetorical device.
Patterns
- a device for doing something
- a literary device
The author uses flashbacks as a device to build suspense.
Metaphor is a common literary device.
The sudden fire was just a plot device to end the scene.
nouncountableformalmilitary
A bomb or other weapon that can explode.
Grammar: Usually part of the phrase explosive device or incendiary device.
Patterns
- an explosive device
Police safely removed an explosive device from the station.
The army disarmed a device near the road.
A suspicious device was found under the bridge.
Word forms
| plural | devices |
|---|
Common combinations
- mobile device
- You can access your account from any mobile device.
- electronic device
- Electronic devices must be switched off during takeoff.
- literary device
- Irony is a literary device many writers use.
- safety device
- The machine has a safety device to stop injuries.
- leave someone to their own devices
- If you leave the children to their own devices, they will build a fort.
- plot device
- The missing letter is a clever plot device.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gadget
- Gadget is more informal and suggests a small, clever tool, often for fun, while device is neutral.
- appliance
- Appliance is used for household machines like a toaster, but device is much wider.
- tool
- Tool is something you hold and use to do work, where device often works by itself.
- contraption
- Contraption is humorous and suggests an odd, complicated machine.
Word family
- devise verb
- to invent or plan something using thought
- deviser noun
- a person who devises
Commonly confused: device or devise?
device vs devise
Device is the noun for an object, while devise, with a z sound, is the verb meaning to invent a plan.
Practice
Which word completes the sentence correctly: She managed to ___ a plan to save money.
Choose one answer.
Devise is the verb meaning to invent a plan, and device is the noun for an object, so only devise fits here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “device”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.