The apparatus of an organization or system is its structure and method of operation.
For many years, the country had been buried under the apparatus of the regime.
...a massive bureaucratic apparatus.
Synonyms: organization, system, network, structure More Synonyms of apparatus
2. variable noun
Apparatus is the equipment, such as tools and machines, which is used to do a particular job or activity.
One of the boys had to be rescued by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus.
More Synonyms of apparatus
apparatus in British English
(ˌæpəˈreɪtəs, -ˈrɑːtəs, ˈæpəˌreɪtəs)
nounWord forms: plural-ratus or -ratuses
1.
a collection of instruments, machines, tools, parts, or other equipment used for a particular purpose
2.
a machine having a specific function
breathing apparatus
3.
the means by which something operates; organization
the apparatus of government
4. anatomy
any group of organs having a specific function
Word origin
C17: from Latin, from apparāre to make ready
apparatus in American English
(ˌæpəˈrætəs; ˌæpəˈreɪtəs)
nounWord forms: pluralˌappaˈratus or ˌappaˈratuses
1.
the instruments, materials, tools, etc. needed for a specific use
2.
any complex device or machine for a specific use
3. Physiology
a set of organs having a specific function
the digestive apparatus
4.
the means or system by which something is kept in action or a desired result is obtained; organization
the apparatus of government
5.
the notes, indexes, glossaries, etc. of a scholarly edition of a text
: in full ˈapparatus criticus (ˈkrɪtɪkəs)
Word origin
L, a making ready, preparation < apparare < ad-, to + parare, prepare
Examples of 'apparatus' in a sentence
apparatus
Almost the entire bureaucratic apparatus was restructured to give ministers and cabinet firm control.
Low, Nicholas Politics, Planning and the State (1990)
They put on their breathing apparatus and went in.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
They gave her breathing apparatus and taught her how to use it.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
There is no evidence that they possessed a modern genetic apparatus.
Dyson, Freeman Infinite in All Directions (1989)
The limit of the breathing apparatus was 45 feet.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Meanwhile, firefighters wearing breathing apparatus search for the source of the stench.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Indeed, only the lack of breathing apparatus convinced me that we were above ground.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Firefighters using breathing apparatus were unable to save the elderly man's life.
The Sun (2014)
Each miner had breathing apparatus that provided an hour's worth of oxygen.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Yet that is a strict account of the apparatus of British government that is almost entirely misleading.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
A socialist government could no more do without a bureaucratic apparatus than could a capitalist one.
Low, Nicholas Politics, Planning and the State (1990)
After exiting from the hatch wearing his breathing apparatus, he released the starboard charge with a heavy spanner.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
When you are stressed you tighten up all the muscles and organs in your body, including your breathing apparatus.
Vera Peiffer POSITIVE THINKING: Everything you have always known about positive thinking but wereafraid to put into practice (2001)
More than 30 firefighters in protective gear and breathing apparatus were called in alongside paramedics to deal with the chemicals.
The Sun (2009)
Couldn't they use breathing apparatus?
The Sun (2008)
Wearing full uniform and breathing apparatus, they were challenged to pull people from a burning room as the clock ticked down.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This approach is consistent with the administration's philosophy that the best way to solve a problem is to erect yet another government apparatus.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The victim, in her thirties, was found after crew wearing breathing apparatus entered the room.
The Sun (2015)
The fire squad with its breathing apparatus moved slowly, like deep-sea divers.
Len Deighton Bomber
If this is not the case, then the bureaucratic apparatus triumphs again, and the political leaders and reformers lose.
Aganbegyan, Abel Inside Perestroika: The Future of the Soviet Economy (1990)
Profile pieces have him as the man with the Midas touch, wearing watches so chunky that they could double as gym apparatus.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Under patronage systems, politicians maintained the strength of the party apparatus by providing government jobs to individuals in exchange for their efforts on the party's behalf.
Tompkins, Jonathan Human Resource Management in Government (1995)
In other languages
apparatus
British English: apparatus /ˌæpəˈreɪtəs; -ˈrɑːtəs; ˈæpəˌreɪtəs/ NOUN
The apparatus of an organization or system is its structure and method of operation.
...the technical apparatus of management.
American English: apparatus
Arabic: جِهَاز
Brazilian Portuguese: aparelho
Chinese: 机构
Croatian: instrument
Czech: přístroj
Danish: apparat
Dutch: apparaat
European Spanish: aparato equipo
Finnish: laite
French: appareil
German: Apparat
Greek: εξοπλισμός
Italian: attrezzatura
Japanese: 器具
Korean: 기구
Norwegian: apparat
Polish: sprzęt
European Portuguese: aparelho
Romanian: aparat
Russian: аппарат
Latin American Spanish: aparato
Swedish: apparat
Thai: เครื่องมือ
Turkish: aygıt
Ukrainian: апарат
Vietnamese: cơ cấu tổ chức
All related terms of 'apparatus'
Golgi apparatus
a network of stainable cytoplasmic fibers, rods , granules , etc., that can collect proteins and secrete them outside the cell
apparatus criticus
textual notes, list of variant readings , etc, relating to a document, esp in a scholarly edition of a text
critical apparatus
the variant readings , footnotes , etc found in a scholarly work or a critical edition of a text
heating apparatus
an apparatus that heats something
Kipp's apparatus
a laboratory apparatus for producing a gas, usually hydrogen sulphide , by the action of a liquid on a solid without heating
breathing apparatus
an apparatus , usually consisting of tanks of air or oxygen and a mouthpiece , that enables the wearer to breath in difficult conditions such as a smoke-filled building