English Dictionary
Definition of “contraption”
contraption (kənˈtræpʃən
)
Definitions
noun
- informal often facetious or derogatory a device or contrivance, esp one considered strange, unnecessarily intricate, or improvised
Word Origin
C19: perhaps from con(trivance) + trapC19: perhaps from () + 1 + () + (inven)tion
Usage examples
Want to give me a hand over the doorstep with this contraption , Pete?
MacLeod, Charlotte, Something in the Water (1994)Leonardo da Vinci later sketched a contraption that used hot gases flowing up a chimney to rotate cooking meat.
New Scientist (1998)First, there's a little bucket-type contraption , which my all-powerful garbage calendar tells me to put under my sink.
Toronto Sun (2003)It appears to be some sort of wooden contraption for praying at.
Times, Sunday Times (2001)The heavy contraption would quite certainly bring the building down and would itself burst open.
Eric Newby, A BOOK OF LANDS AND PEOPLES (2003)
