apparatus

apparatus — noun

1. the collection of instruments, tools, or machines that someone uses to carry out

1.名詞C1
釋義

the collection of instruments, tools, or machines that someone uses to carry out a specific job, scientific test, or physical activity — such as the gear a diver wears or the bars and rings used in gymnastics.

例句

Dr. Hadiya set up the laboratory apparatus before her chemistry students arrived.

scientific context: laboratory apparatus

The firefighters wore breathing apparatus as they searched the burning warehouse.

compound: breathing apparatus

同義詞
  • equipment

    more general; covers any tools or supplies, not only specialised ones

  • gear

    informal; suggests personal kit a person carries or wears

  • instrument

    usually a single precise device rather than a whole set

文法句型

a piece of apparatus

apparatus for + -ing

用法筆記

Often uncountable when referring to a whole set ('the apparatus is ready'); use 'a piece of apparatus' to count individual items. Common in scientific, medical, sports, and emergency-services writing.

常見錯誤

❌I bought three apparatuses for the lab.
✅I bought three pieces of apparatus for the lab.
💡apparatus is usually uncountable, so count it with 'pieces'.
❌The breathing apparatus are heavy.
✅The breathing apparatus is heavy.
💡treat it as singular when referring to one set.

2. the network of offices, officials, and procedures that lets a government, politi

2.名詞C2
釋義

the network of offices, officials, and procedures that lets a government, political party, or large institution actually run — for example the ministries, courts, and security services that keep a state functioning day to day.

例句

After the revolution, the new leaders began rebuilding the apparatus of the state.

fixed phrase: apparatus of the state

The party's apparatus stretched from village offices to the national headquarters in Beijing.

political context: party apparatus

同義詞
  • machinery

    very close in meaning; often interchangeable in 'the machinery of government'

  • bureaucracy

    stresses paperwork and slow procedures rather than power

  • establishment

    stresses the people in power rather than the system itself

文法句型

the apparatus of [the state/government/the party]

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1 (physical tools): here the 'machinery' is metaphorical — people, offices, and procedures. Subject is usually a state, party, or large institution. Frequently used with 'of' + a power-related noun (state, party, government, control).

常見錯誤

❌The school has a strong apparatus.
✅The school has a strong administration.
💡this sense is reserved for political or state-level structures, not ordinary institutions.
❌A police apparatus arrested him.
✅The police apparatus targeted dissidents across the country.
💡this sense refers to the whole system, not a single unit acting on one person.