(~s)
1.
An ~ is a device or machine in your home that you use to do a job such as cleaning or cooking. Appliances are often electrical. (FORMAL)
He could also learn to use the vacuum cleaner, the washing machine and other household ~s.
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2.
The ~ of a skill or of knowledge is its use for a particular purpose.
These advances were the result of the intellectual ~ of science.
N-SING: usu N of n