Library / English Dictionary

INSTALL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: installed    , installing   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Set up for use

Example:

We put in a new sink

Synonyms:

instal; install; put in; set up

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "install" is one way to...):

lay; place; pose; position; put; set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "install"):

retrofit (fit in or on an existing structure, such as an older house)

reinstall (install again)

post; put up (place so as to be noticed)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They want to install the doors

Derivation:

installation; installing; installment (the act of installing something (as equipment))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Place

Example:

Her manager had set her up at the Ritz

Synonyms:

establish; instal; install; set up

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

installation (a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Put into an office or a position

Example:

the new president was installed immediately after the election

Synonyms:

instal; install

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "install"):

induct; invest; seat (place ceremoniously or formally in an office or position)

enthrone; invest; vest (provide with power and authority)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

installation (the act of installing something (as equipment))

installation (a formal entry into an organization or position or office)

Credits

 Context examples: 

"You rogue! You traitor! Jo, how could you?" cried the three girls, as Snodgrass led her friend triumphantly forth, and producing both a chair and a badge, installed him in a jiffy.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“When I dismantled my old Pantheon and cast out Napoleon and Cæsar and their fellows, I straightway erected a new Pantheon,” she answered gravely, “and the first I installed was Dr. Jordan.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A device that malfunctions because it was incorrectly installed, set-up, or configured (e.g., misconfiguration of an automatic defibrillator to semi-automatic leading to failure)

(Device Installation Problem Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)

The buoy, created with the assistance of a grant from NSF's Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination program, was installed off Egmont Key in the Gulf of Mexico and has been producing data on the three-dimensional motion of the sea floor.

(Geoscientists develop technology to improve forecasting of earthquakes, tsunamis, National Science Foundation)

As the tears come into contact with the glucose oxidase, it alters the flow of electrons, producing a signal that is recorded and processed by the device installed in the arm of the eyeglasses, which sends the results in real time to a computer or smartphone.

(Brazilian researchers eye biosensors to monitor diabetes, SciDev.Net)

Under the impression, said Mr. Micawber, that your peregrinations in this metropolis have not as yet been extensive, and that you might have some difficulty in penetrating the arcana of the Modern Babylon in the direction of the City Road,—in short, said Mr. Micawber, in another burst of confidence, that you might lose yourself—I shall be happy to call this evening, and install you in the knowledge of the nearest way.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

So here we are, installed in this beautiful old house, and from both my bedroom and the drawing-room I can see the great elms of the cathedral close, with their great black stems standing out against the old yellow stone of the cathedral and I can hear the rooks overhead cawing and cawing and chattering and gossiping all day, after the manner of rooks—and humans.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It is envisaged that the microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology could one day be used in the developing countries in areas lacking sanitation and installed in homes in the developed countries to help clean waste before it flows into the municipal sewerage network, reducing the burden on water companies to treat effluent.

(Electricity from Sewage: Process Also Kills Germs, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

"Sorry indeed to hear it! she and I must have some talk;" and bending from the perpendicular, he installed his person in the arm-chair opposite Mrs. Reed's.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Scientific activities include studies from a number of study and research institutions across the country, which avail themselves of the ship as well as equipment installed in Antarctica.

(Brazil ship off to Antarctica for research support, Agência Brasil)