apparatus Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun equipment designed to serve a specific function
    setup.
  2. noun (anatomy) a group of body parts that work together to perform a given function
    • the breathing apparatus

WordNet

Ap"pa*ratus noun
Etymology
L., from apparare, apparatum, to prepare; ad + prepare to make ready.
Wordforms
plural Apparatus, also rarely Apparatuses
Definitions
  1. Things provided as means to some end.
  2. Hence: A full collection or set of implements, or utensils, for a given duty, experimental or operative; any complex instrument or appliance, mechanical or chemical, for a specific action or operation; machinery; mechanism.
  3. (Physiol.) A collection of organs all of which unite in a common function; as, the respiratory apparatus.

Webster 1913