Words / B2

uh-PLEYE-uh-ns/əˈplaɪəns/

An appliance is a machine designed to do a job in the home: kitchen appliances, a gas appliance. Machine is everyday and broader; gadget is smaller and often gimmicky; apparatus is lab or official equipment. White goods is informal British for large kitchen machines. In speech, cooker, fridge, or washing machine is clearer than appliance unless you mean the category.

Meaning

A machine designed to do a job in the home, such as a cooker or washing machine.

Examples

• “Kitchen appliances use a lot of electricity.”
• “Unplug small appliances before you go away for the holidays.”
• “The landlord must service gas appliances every year.”

Good to know

A household machine. Everyday: machine / the cooker, fridge, etc. Contrast: apparatus (lab/official), gadget (small, often trendy).

Near in meaning

machine

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