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gadget

gadget

142 2.9
A small useful tool or machine for a special job
  • noun
  • /ˈɡædʒɪt/
translation icon : dispositivo
  • This innovative gadget makes it easy to slice vegetables quickly.
  • gizmos and gadgets
  • electronic gadget
  • kitchen gadgets

Well, it's a new gadget, so I have to have it.

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Examples

  • Amazon Prime Day is here, and that means gadget deals.

  • By the way guys, Speaking of electronic gadgets, I'm back now.

  • Well, it's a new gadget, so I have to have it.

  • But no need to plug this gadget into the wall.

  • You can depend on Terry to have a gadget for everything.

  • In fact, the sky is the limit for innovative systems and gadgets that fit into consumers' budget and needs.

    Academic text (2012)
  • A couple of cameras were slung around his neck, a leather gadget bag over one shoulder.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • I wondered what other new and improved gadgets they had brought with them.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • From now on, I'm treating all of my gadgets with love and respect.

  • Try to free the imagination and experiment with gadgets and lights that are absolutely unusual.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

device
vsgadget
2.1

A machine or tool made to do a particular job

is a small specialised tool often newer and more narrowly for a single use
widget
vsgadget
59 5.1

A small useful thing or tool for a particular job

is a small useful tool often specific, not merely a placeholder or example
gizmo
vsgadget
  • Informal
56 7.1

A small device or tool whose name you do not know

is a small useful tool often newer and technically clever
contraption
vsgadget
54 7.7

A strange machine or tool that looks complicated and hard to use

means a simple useful tool, not something strange or confusing
tech gadget
vsgadget
3 3.7

A small new electronic device like a smartwatch or earbuds that makes life easier

is a small useful tool that is often new or inventive
contrivance
vsgadget
1 7.9

A simple machine made to do a specific job

focuses on small convenient tools rather than formal or improvised inventions
handy gadget
vsgadget
3.0

A small tool that is useful and easy to carry

highlights usefulness but also includes novelty and technical design
gismo
vsgadget
  • UK
8.5

A small device you do not know the name of

denotes a small useful tool, not just a casually named unknown object

Compounds

3 3.7

A small new electronic device like a smartwatch or earbuds that makes life easier

A small tool that is useful and easy to carry

How Complex

machine
1.0
appliance
115 2.3
device
2.1
gadget
142 2.9
gizmo
  • Informal
56 7.1
doodad
  • Informal
7 8.7

Surface Forms

gadget singular
gadgets plural

Etymology

Gadget may come from a French maker named Gaget who showed small tools at a big Paris fair in the 1800s, and people began to call little useful devices by his name. A helpful way to remember gadget is to think of a tiny 'tool' or 'device' made to do one job, which is why gadget now means a small, clever piece of technology.