app

app — noun

1. a small program added to a phone, tablet, or smartwatch — usually downloaded fro

1.nounA1
Definition

a small program added to a phone, tablet, or smartwatch — usually downloaded from an online store — for tasks like chatting with friends, ordering food, listening to music, or playing games.

Example

Imani downloaded a new music app onto her phone before the long bus ride.

download + app + onto + device

There is an app that lets parents track their child's school bus in real time.

an app that + clause

Common collocations
  • download an app
  • open an app
  • delete an app
  • free app
  • banking app
  • dating app
  • fitness app
Synonyms
  • mobile app

    more specific; used when the device type matters

  • application

    the full form; rare in everyday speech for phones

Grammar Patterns

download + an app

open + an app

app store

Usage Note

This is the most common everyday meaning. The phrase 'app store' (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) is fixed and almost always implies this mobile sense, not the desktop one.

Common Mistakes

I downloaded the app in my phone.
I downloaded the app onto my phone.
use 'onto' or 'to' for adding software to a device, not 'in'.
Please open app and check.
Please open the app and check.
countable singular always needs an article or a possessive.

2. a computer program — short for 'application' — built around one clear job, such

2.nounA2
Definition

a computer program — short for 'application' — built around one clear job, such as writing documents, editing photos, or sending email.

Example

Amara installed a free drawing app on her old laptop last weekend.

install + app on + device

The university gives students a video-editing app for their final projects.

app for + purpose

Common collocations
  • drawing app
  • email app
  • writing app
  • free app
  • install an app
Synonyms
  • program

    more formal and traditional; common for desktop software

  • software

    uncountable; refers to programs in general, not one item

  • application

    the full form; sounds more formal in writing

Grammar Patterns

app for + noun

app to + verb

Usage Note

Outside of a phone or tablet context, 'app' often appears next to a clue word that names the task (drawing, email, writing) so listeners know what software is meant.

Common Mistakes

I bought a new app for my fridge.
I bought a new app for my computer.
'app' refers to software, not a physical add-on or device.

3. a short, casual word for an appetizer — a small plate of food, like nachos or so

3.nounB2
Definition

a short, casual word for an appetizer — a small plate of food, like nachos or soup, that you eat at the start of a meal in a restaurant.

Example

Amara and her sister ordered cheesy fries as an app before their burgers arrived.

order + X as an app

Their favorite diner sells half-price apps every Tuesday after six o'clock.

plural: half-price apps

Common collocations
  • order an app
  • share an app
  • half-price apps
  • popular app
Synonyms
  • appetizer

    the full word; used in writing and on menus

  • starter

    British equivalent; same meaning, different region

  • hors d'oeuvre

    more formal; usually small bites at a party, not a restaurant table

Antonyms
  • main course

    the central, larger dish that follows the app

  • dessert

    the sweet dish that ends the meal

Grammar Patterns

order + an app

share + apps

Usage Note

Mainly heard in casual American speech, especially in restaurants. The fuller word 'appetizer' is preferred in writing, on menus, and in formal settings.

Common Mistakes

For starter, I will have an app.
For a starter, I will have an app.
'starter' is a countable noun and needs an article.
I ate an app as my main dish.
I ate an app before my main dish.
apps come before the main course, not in place of it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words point to instructions that tell a device what to do, but each fits a different setting. 'App' is short, casual, and almost always implies something on a phone, tablet, or smartwatch — you 'download an app', not 'download a program'. 'Application' is the full form of 'app'; tech writers and IT staff use it, but in daily talk it sounds stiff. 'Program' is the older, broader word and works best for traditional desktop software, like a spreadsheet program or a chess program. 'Software' is uncountable and names the whole category — you say 'I write software for a living', but you cannot say 'I downloaded a software'. So a learner can safely say 'I downloaded a banking app last night' but should switch to 'program' when describing what runs on a desktop and 'software' when talking about the field as a whole.

app ↗application ↗program ↗software ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • app store
  • app developer
  • app icon
  • app update

Phrases

  • download an app
  • install an app
  • open an app
  • delete an app
  • free app
  • paid app

Prepositions

  • app for
  • app on
  • app to

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

'App' is a clipped form of 'application', which itself reaches back to Latin 'applicare' meaning to attach or join one thing to another. In computing, 'application' was used by the 1980s to label a program written for a specific user task, as opposed to the system software running underneath. The short form 'app' was already around in the 1990s but exploded in everyday English after Apple opened its App Store in 2008, which fixed the spelling and the mobile meaning in most people's minds. The unrelated food sense, short for 'appetizer', came from American restaurant slang and shares the same Latin root because 'appetite' and 'application' both grew out of Latin words about reaching toward something.