What does configure mean?
To configure is to set up or arrange something — most often a computer, network, or piece of software — so that its components work together in a particular way. When users configure their devices, they choose options and adjust parameters to suit their needs, whether that means setting up an email account, tailoring security preferences, or specifying how hardware components interact. The word carries a precise, practical connotation and belongs largely to the language of technology and engineering, appearing constantly in manuals, installation guides, and support articles. Beyond computing it can describe any deliberate shaping of a system's structure, as when designers configure a workspace for collaboration. Derived forms include configuration (the resulting arrangement) and configurable (capable of being adjusted). Ultimately tracing back to the Latin figura, meaning form or shape, configure preserves the idea of giving something its final arrangement.
verbTo arrange or set up something, especially a system, machine, or software, so that its parts work together in a particular way.
- To set up or arrange a system, device, or software so that its components function in a specified way (the dominant modern sense).
- More generally, to shape or give a particular form to something (a rarer, older sense).
"The technician spent the morning configuring the new servers before the office reopened."
"Follow these steps to configure your email account on the new phone."
"The architects configured the interior spaces around a central courtyard."
When you configure a device, you're literally giving it a shape — the word comes straight from Latin figura, meaning 'form' or 'figure'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of configure
Configure derives from the Latin configurare, formed from com- ('together') plus figurare ('to shape'), itself rooted in figura ('form, figure'). It entered English in the early modern period, initially carrying the general sense of shaping or giving form to something. Its modern dominance in computing contexts emerged in the twentieth century, and it shares its Latin root with words such as figure, figurative, transfigure, and disfigure.
Related word forms
How configure is actually used
Configure is a formal-to-neutral term, overwhelmingly used in technological contexts — computing, networking, and engineering — though it can apply to any deliberate arrangement of parts. It is typically transitive and appears often in technical documentation and instructions.
Easily confused with configure
Confirm means to verify or acknowledge that something is correct or agreed upon, while configure means to arrange or set up the parts of a system.