appoint
ap·point/əˈpɔɪnt/verb
appoint is spelled A-P-P-O-I-N-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables (ap·point). It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, appoint means “To set, fix or determine (a time or place for something such as a meeting, or the meeting itself) by authority or agreement” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in appoint?
| Letters | 7: A-P-P-O-I-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ap·point |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is appoint?
Appoint appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce appoint?
- /əˈpɔɪnt/
Appoint has 2 syllables, split ap·point in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-appoint.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of appoint
- appoints present, singular, he/she/it
- appointing participle, present
- appointed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does appoint mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To set, fix or determine (a time or place for something such as a meeting, or the meeting itself) by authority or agreement.
- 2
To name (someone to a post or role).
- 3
To furnish or equip (a place) completely; to provide with all the equipment or furnishings necessary; to fit out.
- 4
To equip (someone) with (something); to assign (someone) authoritatively (some equipment).
- 5
To fix the disposition of (property) by designating someone to take use of (it).
If the donee of a power appoint the fund to one of the objects of the power, under an understanding that the latter is to lend the fund to tho former, although on good security, the appointment is bad.
- 6
obsoleteTo fix with power or firmness by decree or command; to ordain or establish.
- 7
obsoleteTo resolve; to determine; to ordain.
The day being very stormy, we were obliged to keep at home; which I much regretted, as it abridged my opportunity of seeing the Jewish synagogues, as we had appointed to do to-day.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate appoint?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of appoint: appt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Appoint in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fixer, poser , déterminer |
| German | bestimmen, festlegen , ernennen , ausstatten, ausrüsten |
| Portuguese | fixar, fincar , prover |
| Spanish | nombrar a dedo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does appoint come from?
From Middle English apointen, borrowed from Old French apointier (“to prepare, arrange, lean, place”) (French appointer (“to give a salary, refer a cause”)), from Late Latin appunctō (“to bring back to the point, restore, to fix the point in a controversy, or the points in an agreement”); Latin ad + punctum (“a point”). See point.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).