equip

E1Q10U1I1P3
/ɪˈkwɪp/[ɪˈkʰwɪp]/əˈkwɪp/[əˈkʰwɪp]

verb

To supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task; to provide with (e.g. weapons, provisions, munitions, rigging).

“I'm sorry, but I don't feel equipped to answer that kinda question yet.”

CommonScrabble 16

Meanings

verbequip (third-person singular simple present equips, present participle equipping, simple past equipped, past participle equipped or (archaic) equipt)

present singular third person equips · participle present equipping · past equipped · participle past equipped · archaic participle past equipt

  1. transitiveTo supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task; to provide with (e.g. weapons, provisions, munitions, rigging).

    1698-1699, Edmund Ludlow, Memoirs Gave orders for equipping a considerable fleet.

    3 more examples

    A semicircular plate, with the numbers in multiples of five up to thirty miles an hour, is equipped with a pointer, which indicates accurately the speed of the car.

    1916, “Indicator Tells Pursuing Police Speed of Automobile”, in Popular Science Monthly/Volume 88

    Some of those neighbors will also have Meraki boxes that serve as repeaters, relaying the signal still farther to more neighbors. The company equips its boxes with software that maintains a “mesh network,” which dynamically reroutes signals as boxes are added or unplugged, and as environmental conditions that affect network performance fluctuate moment to moment.

    2007 February 4, Randall Stross, “Wireless Internet for All, Without the Towers”, in The New York Times

    More than 40,000 would-be migrants to Europe have been intercepted at sea since Italy began paying and equipping the Libyan coastguard to do so in 2017.

    2020 February 13, Roland Oliphant, “'I have lost four years of my life': the desperate migrants stuck in squalid Libyan camps”, in The Telegraph

    Synonyms: apparel, dight, fit out, kit out

  2. transitiveTo dress up; to array; to clothe.

    The country are led astray in following the town, and equipped in a ridiculous habit, when they fancy themselves in the height of the mode.

    1711 July 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SUNDAY, July 2, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 129; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC

    Synonyms: don

  3. transitiveTo prepare (someone) with a skill.

    I'm sorry, but I don't feel equipped to answer that kinda question yet.

    2 more examples

    it is no more than proper that you should equip us with a vessel in which to pursue the journey which you interrupted

    1921, Rafael Sabatini, In Destiny's Clutch

    Already in the primary school work is conducted for the purpose of equipping the pupils with those elements of general knowledge which are closely related to the military preparation of future warriors.

    1947 October 20, “Russian Catechism”, in Time
  4. transitivegamesTo equip oneself with (an item); to bring (equipment) into active use.

    Take it down from a distance with a magic spell, or equip your sword and attack it at close range.

    2002, Prima Temp Authors, PlayStation 2: Hot Strategies for Cool Games, page 69
nounequip (uncountable)
  1. slanguncountablegamesEquipment (carried by a game character).

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task; to provide with (e.g. weapons, provisions, munitions, rigging).

verbTo dress up; to array; to clothe.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

verbprovide with (something) usually for a specific purpose

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*skipōną“to ship, sail, embark”
  2. Old Norseskipa“to man (a ship)”
  3. Germanic
  4. Old Frenchesquiper“to embark”
  5. Frenchéquiper“to supply, fit out”
  6. Englishequip

From French équiper (“to supply, fit out”), originally said of a ship, Old French esquiper (“to embark”); of Germanic origin, most probably from Old Norse skipa (“to man (a ship)”), from Proto-Germanic *skipōną (“to ship, sail, embark”). Compare with Middle High German schipfen, German schiffern, Icelandic skipa, Old English scipian. Doublet of ship.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian обзавеждам, екипирам
  • обзавеждам (obzaveždam)to supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • екипирам (ekipiram)to dress up
  • тренирам (treniram)to prepare (someone) with a skill
Czech vybavit, vystrojit
  • vybavitto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • vystrojitto dress up
  • vybavitto prepare (someone) with a skill
Dutch uitrusten
  • uitrustento supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Esperanto ekipi
  • ekipito supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Finnish varustaa, pukea
  • varustaato supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • pukeato dress up
  • tarjotato prepare (someone) with a skill
  • opettaato prepare (someone) with a skill
German ausrüsten, ausstatten
  • ausrüstento supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • ausstattento supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • anlegengaming: to equip oneself with (an item)
Italian equipaggiare
  • equipaggiareto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Japanese 装着
  • 装着 (sōchaku)to supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Latin ornō, armō
  • ornōto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • armōto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • armōto dress up
  • armōto prepare (someone) with a skill
Māori whakarawe
  • whakaraweto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Norwegian Bokmål utruste
  • utrusteto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Polish wyposażyć, wyposażać
  • wyposażyćto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • wyposażaćto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Portuguese equipar, equipar
  • equiparto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • equiparto dress up
Scottish Gaelic uidheamaich, uidheamaich
  • uidheamaichto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • uidheamaichto dress up
  • uidheamaichto prepare (someone) with a skill
Spanish equipar, equiparse
  • equiparto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
  • equiparseto dress up
  • prepararto prepare (someone) with a skill
  • dotarto prepare (someone) with a skill
  • equiparsegaming: to equip oneself with (an item)
Swedish utrusta
  • utrustato supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task
Turkish donatmak
  • donatmakto supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with equip

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

equip. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/equip

MLA

“equip.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/equip. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “equip,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/equip.

Source: equip on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.