equip
verb
Simple meaning
To supply with something necessary to carry out a specific action or task.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihkwipSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪkˈwɪp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task; to provide with (e.g. weapons, provisions, munitions, rigging).
transitive
To prepare (someone) with a skill.
transitivegaming
To equip oneself with (an item); to bring (equipment) into active use.
transitive
To dress up; to array; to clothe.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task; to provide with (e.g. weapons, provisions, munitions, rigging).
Used this way, equip is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a nautical use: it is standard at sea and largely unfamiliar ashore.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Sailing/maritime
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Provided or fitted out with what is necessary or useful or appropriate.
The act of equiping with weapons in preparation for war.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An instrumentality needed for an undertaking or to perform a service.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.