Device or devise?
device is a noun meaning “Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical…”; devise is a verb meaning “To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something)”. Use device as a noun and devise as a verb (devise is also a noun: “The act of leaving real property in a will”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) device is about 30 times as common as devise.
What is the difference between device and devise?
| device | devise | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | verb, noun |
| Meaning | Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one A peripheral device; an item of hardware | To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something) To leave (property) in a will The act of leaving real property in a will |
| Example | Near-synonyms: equipment, tool, machine | Near-synonyms: lay, set, design, plan, create |
| Forms | devices | devises, devising, devised |
| Pronunciation | /dɪˈvaɪs/ [dɪˈvʌɪs] | /dɪˈvaɪz/ |
| In writing | 47 times per million words | 1.5 times per million words |
Sources: device and devise in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of device and devise
device
- 1
Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one
Near-synonyms: equipment, tool, machine
- 2
A peripheral device; an item of hardware
- 3
A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice. 1602, Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor. "This is our device,/ That Falstaff at that oak shall meet with us."
- 4
IrelandAn improvised explosive device, home-made bomb
- 5
A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device
- 6
A motto, emblem, or other mark used to distinguish the bearer from others. A device differs from a badge or cognizance primarily as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of…
- 7
An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark
devise
- 1
To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something)
Near-synonyms: lay, set, design, plan, create
- 2
The act of leaving real property in a will
- 3
To leave (property) in a will
- 4
Such a will, or a clause in such a will
- 5
The real property left in such a will
- 6
Design, devising
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, device or devise?
device appears 47 times per million words; devise 1.5 times per million words.
device 47 times per million wordsdevise 1.5 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search device vs devise?
“device vs devise” is searched about 480 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“devise vs device”, “device or devise”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.