apparatus

Noun

apparatus (plural apparatuses or apparatusses or apparatus or (both rare) apparatûs or apparatūs or (hypercorrect) apparati)

1. The entirety of means whereby a specific production is made existent or task accomplished.
   • These television stations are part of the apparatus and power of Milosevic. This is the apparatus he has used to do the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. It is the apparatus that keeps him in power and we are entirely justified as Nato allies in damaging and taking on those targets.1999 April 24, Martin Kettle, Alex Brummer, quoting Tony Blair, “The bombing goes on”, in The Guardian
   • Among the many good points Thomas Piketty makes in Capital in the Twenty First Century – his world-changing but surprisingly mild book – is that extreme inequality can be sustained politically only through an “apparatus of justification”.2014 July 29, George Monbiot, “The rich want us to believe their wealth is good for us all”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   dynamic, mechanism, setup

2. A complex machine or instrument.
   • “I have met my young photographer,” said De Stancy, cheerily. “What a small world it is, as every busybody truly observes! I am wishing he could take some views for us as we go on; but you have no apparatus with you, I suppose, Mr. Dare?”1880–1881, Thomas Hardy, chapter I, in A Laodicean; or, The Castle of the De Stancys. A Story of To-day. […], volume III, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, […], published 1881, →OCLC...
   • An apparatus for exploring the atmosphere of a planet such as Venus, at a specific altitude, was patented this week for a French agency, the Office Nationale d'Etudes et de Recherche Aerospatiales.1983 July 30, Stacy V. Jones, “Apparatus For Study Of Planets”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms:

   device, instrument, machinery

3. (collective) An assortment of tools and instruments.
   • We immediately threw out all the little things we had with us, ſuch as biſcuits, apples, &c. and after that one of our oars or wings; but ſtill deſcending, we caſt away the other wing, and then the governail ; having likewiſe had the precaution, for fear of accidents, while the Balloon was filling...1786, John Jeffries, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, A narrative of the two aerial Voyages of Dr. J. with Mons. Blanchard: with meteorological observations and remarks., page 45

   Synonyms:

   tools, gear, equipment

4. A bureaucratic organization, especially one influenced by political patronage.
   • In English fiction—that is to say British fiction in the English language tradition—it is a subtle question because we dislike thinking abstractly and conceptualisation of government, where it exists, is vague and confused. Take bishops: they sat as legislators and so were part of the governing...2006 April 3, David Walker, “Beyond her imagination”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   machine

5. A vehicle used for emergency response.
6. Any of the equipment on which the gymnasts perform their movements.
7. (rhythmic gymnastics) Any of the objects that the gymnasts wield while performing and used as part of the performance itself.
8. A complex, highly modified weapon (typically not a firearm); a weaponized “Rube Goldberg machine.”
9. In an edition, a system of notations providing information, especially regarding variant readings of a text (a critical apparatus)