'Device' is the noun (a gadget); 'devise' is the verb (to plan or invent something).
"Device" is a noun referring to a gadget or piece of equipment, usually electronic: your phone, your laptop, any gadget.
Please turn off all electronic devices before takeoff.
This app works on any device, phone, tablet, or computer.
He invented a small device to help people with limited mobility.
"Devise" is a verb meaning to plan, invent, or work out something, usually a plan, a strategy, or a method.
The team devised a plan to launch the product two months earlier.
Scientists devised a new method for testing water quality.
They devised a clever way to cut costs without lowering quality.
Common mistake
Just like "advice/advise", the word without the final "e" ("device") is the noun, the one ending in "e" ("devise") is the verb. Writing "we need to device a plan" is wrong: the action of coming up with something takes "devise".
Trick to remember it
Same pattern as advice/advise and breath/breathe: no final "e" = noun (deviCE, the thing), final "e" = verb (deviSE, the action). Note the pronunciation too: "device" has a soft "s" sound, "devise" has a "z" sound.
Quick rule
Is it the gadget itself? "Device" (noun). Is it the action of planning or inventing something? "Devise" (verb).
Did you know?
Both words come from Old French "deviser" (to divide, distribute, arrange), which comes from Latin "dividere" (to divide), the same root as "divide" and "division". The original idea was "breaking a problem into parts to solve it", from there "devise" evolved to mean "coming up with a plan", and "device" (the result of that planning, something designed for a specific purpose) split off as a noun in Middle English.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
I forgot to charge my _____, so my phone is at 2% battery.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
We need to _____ a better system for tracking customer complaints.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy