install — English Dictionary

Verb

1. To connect, set up or prepare something for use

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."

   Each TBM installs two-metre-wide rings made up of seven precast concrete segments produced on-site. Each ring takes approximately 45 minutes to one hour to install.

2. To connect, set up or prepare something for use To transfer software onto a device's permanent storage and put it in a state where it is ready to be run when needed, usually decompressing it if necessary and performing any necessary pre-first-run configuration.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   I haven't installed the new operating system yet because of all the bugs.

3. To admit formally into an office, rank or position.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   seatinstate

   Examples

   He was installed as Chancellor of the University.

   My husband rented a small, comfortable house, and I was installed as its mistress.

   More examples (1)

   Theresa May, installed as prime minister in the chaos after the vote, could not publicly admit Brexit threatened jobs at Nissan, giving Ghosn huge leverage.

4. To establish or settle in.

   Usage

   • Reflexive
   • sometimes
   • Transitive

   Examples

   I installed myself in my usual chair by the fire.

   More examples (1)

   At Kiwi, 40 miles from Nelson [New Zealand], eight women installed themselves in the goods shed, taking with them their knitting, and a supply of food and magazines. The demolition crew was unable to pull the building down without injuring them.

Noun

1. An installation: the process of installing a software application.

   Usage

   • Informal

   Examples

   The install takes a long time, but you can run it in the background while working on other things.

2. An installation: a software application that has been installed.

   Usage

   • Informal

   Examples

   I've customized my local install; the out-of-the-box version looks a bit different.

Verb

1. set up for use

   Synonyms

   instalput inset up

   Broader terms

   putsetplaceposepositionlay

   Examples

   install the washer and dryer

   We put in a new sink

2. put into an office or a position

   Synonyms

   instal

   Broader terms

   putsetplaceposepositionlay

   Examples

   the new president was installed immediately after the election

3. place

   Synonyms

   instalset upestablish

   Broader terms

   instalput inset up

   Examples

   Her manager had set her up at the Ritz