DictionaryAI

equipment

noun
ee-KWIP-muhnt/ɪˈkwɪpmənt/

3 meanings of equipment

Practice

  1. 1
    gearnoununcountable
    The items used to equip a person or thing, such as the gear needed for an expedition or voyage.

    The expedition's equipment included tents, ropes, and a satellite phone.

    Hospitals invest heavily in equipment to diagnose and treat their patients.

    UsageCount it as a piece of equipment (not incorrect: an equipment); it usually has no plural: lots of equipment.

    Similargear, kit, apparatus, supplies, tools

    Note

    Here the word names the things, not the act. The plural equipments does exist, and Henry Longfellow's The Golden Legend (1851) arms a man "in the equipments of a knight."

  2. 2
    private partsnounslanghumorousuncountable
    A humorous slang word for a man's genitals.

    He toweled off and made sure his equipment was hidden before the others walked in.

    Locker-room banter quickly turned to crude boasts about whose equipment was bigger.

    UsageUsually with a possessive, his equipment; in formal or medical contexts the plain words are genitals or penis.

    Similarpackage, junk, tackle, privates

    Note

    A joke built on the gear sense: the body's own kit, spoken of as if it were packed alongside the rest of a man's belongings.

Less common meaning

  1. 3
    noun
    The act of supplying what is needed, or the state of being supplied, as for a voyage or expedition.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of equipment apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This word was formed from "equip" plus the suffix "-ment," or it may come from French "équipement."

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  • The word was formed from equip plus -ment, or possibly borrowed from French équipement. en.wiktionary.org