Gadget Meaning
/ɡæd͡ʒ.ɪt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA thing whose name cannot be remembered; thingamajig, doohickey.
nounAny device or machine, especially one whose name cannot be recalled, often either clever or complicated.
Sentence Examples
This is a great time-saving gadget for the housewife.
What's your favorite gadget?
This gadget is light years ahead of any other.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
He bought a small electronic ____ that can open cans automatically.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He bought a new kitchen ____ that promised to peel vegetables in just a few seconds.
Word Origin & History
Unknown. First used in print by Robert Brown in 1886 (see quote in definition section). Might come from French gâchette or gagée, or from the French family name Gaget, an industrialist who produced promotional gadgets in collaboration with the project to build the statue of Liberty.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Then the names of all the other things on board a ship! I don't know half of them yet; even the sailors forget at times, and if the exact name of anything they want happens to slip from their memory, they call it a chicken-fixing, or a gadjet, or a timmey-noggy, or a wim-wom—just pro tem., you know."
— 1886, Robert Brown, Spunyard and Spindrift, A Sailor Boy's Log of a Voyage Out and Home in a China Tea-clipper:
"Cory will find cool gadgets along the way that you can use against enemies or to solve puzzles."
— 2008, “Story Mode”, in Cory in the House: Instruction Booklet, Burbank, California: Disney Interactive Studios; Nintendo, page 8:
"From the Marvel Mixmaster to the Miracle Microwave, every time a new-fangled gadget has lobbed into the Aussie kitchen, Aussie mums have changed their cooking styles accordingly."
— 1987, Kerry Cue, Hang On To Your Horses Doovers, page 5:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He bought a small electronic ____ that can open cans automatically.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He bought a new kitchen ____ that promised to peel vegetables in just a few seconds.