Definition of "apparatus" []

• An appliance or device for a particular purpose: an x-ray apparatus. (noun)
• An integrated group of materials or devices used for a particular purpose: dental apparatus. See Synonyms at equipment. (noun)
• The totality of means by which a designated function is performed or a specific task executed, as in a system of government. (noun)
• A political organization or an underground political movement. Also called apparat. (noun)
• Physiology A group or system of organs that collectively perform a specific function or process: the respiratory apparatus; the digestive apparatus. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "WORD CORRECT PRONUNCIATION alma mater _alma mater_ apparatus _apparatus_ apricot _apricot_ attaché _attasha'_ audacious _audashus_ ballet _bal'la_ blasé _blaza'_ blatant _blatant_ chasten _chasen_"
• "The wealth of detail in the charting of the universe carried out in recent years with this apparatus is absolutely unique."
• "I realize that this kind of apparatus is usually reserved for "classic" works intended for classroom use, but I don't think we can pretend that translations shorn of such support are sufficient for presenting the work, poetry or fiction, of translated authors, especially authors to whom we come completely unfamiliar."