app

1 of 2

noun

ˈap 

1

: application sense 3

a word processing app

especially : an application designed for a mobile device (such as a smartphone)

Health-insurance companies and government officials alike are drawn to the ability of smartphone apps to reach tough-to-access patients, to effect long-term lifestyle changes, and to do it all at a very low cost.

—Marcellus Hall

see also killer app

2

informal : appetizer

… the hidden video monitors that tell the cooks when the V.I.P.'s have finished their apps …

—Thomas McNamee

app

2 of 2

abbreviation

1

apparatus

2

appendix

3

appliance

Examples of app in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses the company's Redshift engine to render a complex image, while Geekbench 6.3 Pro from Primate Labs simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning. —PCMAG, 16 Nov. 2024

Google’s premium image generator, Imagen 3, comes integrated with the app. —Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024

In the app, the Wildfire Smoke Layer shows where smoke from those fires drifts and how dense that smoke is. —Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024

Officers conducting a preliminary investigation reviewed messages the student had left on Discord, an online chatting app used by gamers and others, and arrested the student on suspicion of making criminal threats. —Karen Kucher, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1981, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing app

• killer app

Kids Definition

app

noun

ˈap

1

: application sense 6

2

informal : appetizer

Medical Definition

app

1 of 2 abbreviation

appendix

APP

2 of 2 abbreviation

amyloid precursor protein

Legal Definition

App

abbreviation

Appeals