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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

install.

To connect, set up or prepare something for use

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɪnˈstɔːl/Received-Pronunciation/ɪnˈstoːl/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/ɪnˈstɔl/US/ɪnˈstɑl/US, cot-caught-merger

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

    transitive

  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.

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

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

    transitive
    He was installed as Chancellor of the University.

  4. To establish or settle in.

    reflexive · sometimes · transitive
    I installed myself in my usual chair by the fire.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English installen, from Old French installer, from Medieval Latin īnstallō (“to install, put in place, establish”), from in- + stallum (“stall”), from Frankish *stall (“stall, position, place”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz (“place, position”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel-, *stAlǝn-, *stAlǝm- (“stem, trunk”). Cognate with Old High German stal (“location, stall”), Old English steall (“position, stall”), Old English onstellan (“to institute, create, originate, establish, give the example of”), Middle High German anstalt (“institute”), German anstellen (“to conduct, employ”), German einstellen (“to set, adjust, position”), Dutch aanstellen (“to appoint, commission, institute”), Dutch instellen (“to set up, establish”). More at in, stall.

noun/ɪnˈstɔːl/Received-Pronunciation/ɪnˈstoːl/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/ɪnˈstɔl/US/ɪnˈstɑl/US, cot-caught-merger

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

    informal
    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.

    informal
    I've customized my local install; the out-of-the-box version looks a bit different.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English installen, from Old French installer, from Medieval Latin īnstallō (“to install, put in place, establish”), from in- + stallum (“stall”), from Frankish *stall (“stall, position, place”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz (“place, position”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel-, *stAlǝn-, *stAlǝm- (“stem, trunk”). Cognate with Old High German stal (“location, stall”), Old English steall (“position, stall”), Old English onstellan (“to institute, create, originate, establish, give the example of”), Middle High German anstalt (“institute”), German anstellen (“to conduct, employ”), German einstellen (“to set, adjust, position”), Dutch aanstellen (“to appoint, commission, institute”), Dutch instellen (“to set up, establish”). More at in, stall.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.