Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

device

/dɪˈvaɪs/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.67 in modern English

Syllables: de-vice
IPA: /dɪˈvaɪs/

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.

noun

A peripheral device; an item of hardware.

noun

A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice. 1602, Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor. "This is our device,/ That Falstaff at that oak shall meet with us."

noun

An improvised explosive device, home-made bomb

noun

A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device.

noun

A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device. (heraldry) 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.

noun

Power of devising; invention; contrivance.

Archaic

noun

An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark.

Example Sentences

"Near-synonyms: equipment, tool, machine"
"1949. Geneva Convention on Road Traffic Chapter VI. Provisions Applicable to Cycles in International Traffic Every cycle shall be equipped with: … (b) an audible warning device consisting of a bell …"
"An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine."
"His device is against Babylon, to destroy it."
"He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise."
"Their recent device of demanding benevolences."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁-der. Proto-Italic *wiðō Latin *vidō Latin dīvidō Latin dīvīsus Old French devisbor. Middle English devis English device From Middle English devis, devise, devyce, devys, devyse, from Old French devis and devise, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō (“to divide”). Doublet of devise (noun).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: devis, dīvīsus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /dɪˈvaɪs/
British English: /dɪˈvaɪs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

devices (plural)

Derived Forms

deviceful deviceless devicelike

Phrases

device addiction device driver device file device tree device under test nano-device time-on-device

Frequently Paired Words

tool instrument

Synonyms

equipment tool machine apparatus appliance gadget design contrivance scheme project stratagem artifice

Antonyms

nondevice

Rhymes With

nice price ice advice twice vice rice precise mice slice spice dice

Questions

How do you pronounce device?: The recorded pronunciation is /dɪˈvaɪs/.
What does device mean?: Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
Where does device come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce device

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “device”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dɪˈvaɪs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “device”.
Repeat and practice — Say “device” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.