device

de·vice

Use device in a sentence

The telephone is a device used for communication.

noun

The definition of a device is a tool or technique used to do a task.

An example of a device is a telephone for the hearing impaired.
An example of device is a literary tool like personification.

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"device." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE>.

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device. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE

device

a thing devised; plan; scheme, esp. a sly or underhanded scheme; trick
a contrivance, esp. a mechanical one, for some specific purpose
something used to gain an artistic effect: rhetorical devices
an ornamental figure or design
a design, often with a motto, on a coat of arms; heraldic emblem
any motto or emblem
Archaic the act or power of devising

Origin of device

Middle English and Old French devis, division, will from Old French deviser: see devise

device Idioms

leave someone to his own devices

to allow someone to act independently or as he (or she) wishes

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"device." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE>.

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device. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE

device

noun

An object designed and manufactured to perform one or more functions.
A literary contrivance, such as parallelism or personification, used to achieve a particular effect.
a. A decorative design, figure, or pattern, as one used in embroidery. See Synonyms at figure.
b. A graphic symbol or motto, especially in heraldry.
A plan or scheme for accomplishing something: “Now Lydgate might have called at the warehouse, or might have written a message on a leaf of his pocket-book and left it at the door. Yet these simple devices apparently did not occur to him” ( George Eliot )

Origin of device

Middle English from Old French devis division, wish and Old French devise design both from Latin dīvīsus, dīvīsa past participle of dīvidere to divide, separate ; see divide .

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"device." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE>.

APA Style

device. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE

Noun

(plural devices)

Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
There are a number of household devices in a kitchen such as a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, or an electric can opener.
A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice.
(rhetoric) 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 because as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of the same house successively.
(archaic) Power of devising; invention; contrivance.
(law) An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark.
(printing) An image or logo denoting official or proprietary authority or provenience.

Origin

Old French devis, from Latin divisus, past participle of dividere (“to divide”), thus originally, when goods were being divided among people, a mark put on each item to say who was getting what.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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"device." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE>.

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device. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEVicE

device - Computer Definition

(1) Hardware. The term refers to any electronic or electromechanical machine or component from a transistor to a disk drive to a smartphone. A device always refers to hardware, never to software. However, a "device driver" refers to software written to activate (to drive) a specific hardware device (see driver). A Client Device In general conversation, "the user's device" refers to the hardware operated on a daily basis by a person and may refer to a smartphone, tablet, iPod, laptop computer or desktop computer, but not to a network device.

(2) In semiconductor design, a device is an active component, such as a transistor or diode, in contrast to a passive component, such as a resistor or capacitor.

Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.