What does device mean?
Word: Device
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Device means a tool, machine or gadget made to do a particular job, such as a phone, a torch or a tin opener.
Synonyms: gadget, tool, instrument
How do you spell device?
Syllables: de - vice
Tricky part: Device has a near-twin that differs by one letter at the end and sounds slightly different, so the two are easily mixed up: check which one a sentence needs. Students also drop the final e and write devic.
Watch out for: devic, devyce, deviece
Memory tip: Device ends in ice, just like price and slice; think of a little kitchen device that slices ice.
Idioms and Phrases
- left to your own devices: left alone to do whatever you want Example: "Left to our own devices for the afternoon, my cousins and I built a fort out of bedsheets."
Device in a sentence
Example 1: Grandpa uses a small device to check his blood pressure every morning.
Example 2: This clever device peels a mango in seconds.
Example 3: Please switch off every electronic device before the exam begins.
Fun Fact
In poetry lessons, a literary device is a trick a writer uses, such as rhyme or simile, so the word is not only about machines.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) justice
b) divice
c) novice
d) service
Show answer
b) divice. Device begins with de, like decide and delay; divice puts an i there.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
eicved
a) a person whose job is mending shoes
b) a thick, sweet liquid made by bees
c) a gadget built for one particular job
d) a small room for sleeping on a ship
Show answer
c) a gadget built for one particular job. Unscrambled, the six letters give device, a word for any gadget made for a job.
Word Twins
Fill both blanks and choose the correct option:
1. Mum bought a clever ___ that switches on the porch light at sunset. 2. Our team must ___ a way to keep the classroom plants watered during the holidays.
a) 'device' in both
b) devise/device
c) device/devise
d) 'devise' in both
Show answer
c) device/devise. Sentence 1 needs a thing, the noun device; sentence 2 needs an action, the verb devise, meaning to plan.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with device?
a) precise
b) concise
c) police
d) entice
Show answer
c) police. Police ends in an 'eess' sound; entice, precise and concise end in the 'ice' sound of device.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Grandpa's hearing device helps him to ___.
a) sleep more deeply
b) hear more clearly
c) walk more steadily
d) see more sharply
Show answer
b) hear more clearly
2. Which device would you use to check your body temperature?
a) a thermometer
b) a speedometer
c) a microphone
d) a stopwatch
Show answer
a) a thermometer
