An appliance is a piece of equipment designed to perform a specific household task. Your family's refrigerator keeps food cold, the dishwasher cleans dirty plates, the washing machine handles laundry, and the toaster browns bread for breakfast. Each one is an appliance built for a particular job.

Most appliances run on electricity, though some use natural gas. Before electric appliances became common in the early 1900s, people spent much more time on household chores. Washing clothes by hand took hours. Keeping food fresh without refrigeration meant frequent trips to buy groceries or preserving food with salt.

Major appliances like stoves, refrigerators, and washing machines are large and expensive. Small appliances like blenders, coffee makers, and vacuum cleaners are portable and less costly. When an appliance breaks down, families often need to repair or replace it quickly because they depend on it for daily tasks.

The word can also refer to dental devices like braces, which orthodontists call orthodontic appliances. These apply constant pressure to gradually straighten teeth over time.