arrangement
Pluralarrangements
- 1A particular way in which things are organized or placed in relation to one another.
The arrangement of furniture made the small room feel much larger.
She studied the arrangement of stars before tracing the constellation.
Similarlayout, configuration, placement, setup, positioning
- 2The manner or state in which something has been put in order.
The arrangement of the troops puzzled the opposing general.
Critics praised the careful arrangement of paintings throughout the gallery.
Similarlayout, disposition, organization, order, configuration
Oppositedisorder, disarray, disorganization, chaos
- 3The plans and preparations made in advance for some undertaking or event.
Her assistant handled every arrangement for the overseas conference.
Funeral arrangements were finalized within two days of his passing.
Similarplan, preparation, provision
Note
Preparations come in sets, so this sense usually appears in the plural: funeral arrangements, travel arrangements, and the everyday phrase make arrangements for something. The singular is possible, but the plural is the safer choice. Keep it apart from the "agreement" meaning. Arrangements for a trip are the preparations you make, while an arrangement with a landlord is a deal two parties reach.
- 4An agreement or understanding reached between two or more people about what each will do.
The two companies reached an arrangement to share research costs.
By a private arrangement with the landlord, the tenants stayed rent-free that month.
Similaragreement, deal, understanding, accord, settlement
- 5The act or process of putting a set of things into a particular order.
The arrangement of the exhibits took the curator several weeks.
Careful arrangement of the data into tables made the report easier to read.
Similarorganization, ordering, placement, sorting, positioning
Note
The action noun the whole family rests on: French arrangement, built from arrange plus -ment, the suffix that turns a verb into the doing of it. Here the word names the work itself, so it sits naturally beside how long that work took or who carried it out. The word also names what the work leaves behind: the manner of being arranged and a set of arranged things.
- 6A group or collection of things that have been put together in a deliberate order.
The florist created an elegant arrangement of roses and lilies.
A neat arrangement of tools hung above the workbench.
Similardisplay, composition, array, grouping
- 7A musical work reworked to suit instruments other than the original ones or to give it a different style.
Her jazz arrangement of the old hymn surprised the whole congregation.
The orchestra performed a lively new arrangement of the folk song.
Similaradaptation, version, orchestration, rendition, setting
Note
In music the word names a version of a piece, not a new work. The tune stays recognizable while what surrounds it changes: the harmony, the texture, the scoring for voices or instruments the original never had. A jazz setting of a hymn and a folk song scored for full orchestra are both arrangements. The composer's piece is the starting point, and the arrangement is one way of dressing it.
Practice
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Origin
From French arrangement, formed from arrange plus the suffix -ment.