Appropriate - Oxford Learner's Dictionaries

Oxford logo Toggle navigation Redeem Upgrade Help Sign in

• Dictionaries
  • Dictionaries home
  • English
  • American English
  • Academic
  • Collocations
  • German-English
• Grammar
  • Grammar home
  • Practical English Usage
  • Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists
  • Word Lists home
  • My Word Lists
  • Topics
  • Recent additions
• Resources
  • Resources home
  • Text Checker

Sign in Dictionaries

• Dictionaries home
• English
• American English
• Academic
• Collocations
• German-English

Grammar

• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)

Word Lists

• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Topics
• Recent additions

Resources

• Resources home
• Text Checker

Redeem Upgrade Help TOP English English American English Academic English Collocations Practical English Usage German-English English-German English American English Enter search text

Definition of appropriate verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

appropriate verb  /əˈprəʊprieɪt/  /əˈprəʊprieɪt/ (formal)Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they appropriate	/əˈprəʊprieɪt/  /əˈprəʊprieɪt/
he / she / it appropriates	/əˈprəʊprieɪts/  /əˈprəʊprieɪts/
past simple appropriated	/əˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/  /əˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/
past participle appropriated	/əˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/  /əˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/
-ing form appropriating	/əˈprəʊprieɪtɪŋ/  /əˈprəʊprieɪtɪŋ/

jump to other results

1. appropriate something to take something, somebody’s ideas, etc. for your own use, especially illegally or without permission
   • He was accused of appropriating club funds.
   • Some of the opposition party's policies have been appropriated by the government.
   Topics Crime and punishmentc2

   Want to learn more?

   Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.

   
2. appropriate something (for something) to take or give something, especially money for a particular purpose
   • Five million dollars have been appropriated for research into the disease.
compare misappropriateWord Originlate Middle English: from late Latin appropriatus, past participle of appropriare ‘make one's own’, from ad- ‘to’ + proprius ‘own, proper’.

See appropriate in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee appropriate in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishCheck pronunciation: appropriate

Other results

All matches

• appropriate adjective

Nearby words

• appropriacy noun
• appropriate adjective
• appropriate verb
• appropriately adverb
• appropriateness noun

patience noun From the Word list Oxford 5000 B2 Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day