Definition of “appeal” - English Dictionary

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“appeal” in English

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appealnoun

uk ​ /əˈpiːl/ us ​ /əˈpiːl/

appeal noun (REQUEST)

C1 [ C ] a request to the public for money, information, or help:

They're launching (= starting) an appeal to raise money for famine victims.
[ + to infinitive ] The police have issued an appeal to the public to stay away from the area over the weekend.

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appeal noun (LEGAL)

› [ C or U ] a request made to a court of law or to someone in authority to change a previous decision:

The case went to the court of appeal/the appeal court.
He won his appeal and the sentence was halved.
She has lodged (= made) an appeal against the severity of the fine.

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appealverb

uk ​ /əˈpiːl/ us ​ /əˈpiːl/

appeal verb (REQUEST)

C1 [ I ] to make a serious or formal request, especially to the public, for money, information, or help:

They're appealing for clothes and blankets to send to the devastated region.
The police are appealing to the public for any information about the missing girl.
I tried to appeal to (= ask for support based on) his sense of loyalty, stressing how good the company had been to him.
[ + to infinitive ] Church leaders have appealed to the government to halt the war.

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appeal verb (LEGAL)

› [ I ] to request a higher court of law to consider again a decision made by a lower court, especially in order to reduce or prevent a punishment:

The teenager has been given leave (= allowed) by the High Court to appeal against her two-year sentence.
They're appealing to the court to reduce the sentence to a fine.

› [ I ] to formally request that a legal or official decision be changed:

The parents appealed against the school's decision not to admit the child.
The players appealed to the referee for a free kick.

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appeal verb (ATTRACT)

B2 [ I not continuous ] to interest or attract someone:

It's a programme designed to appeal mainly to 16 to 25-year-olds.
I think what appeals to me about his painting is his use of colour.
UK I haven't been skiing - it's never really appealed.

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(Definition of “appeal” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“appeal” in American English

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appealverb

us ​ /əˈpil/

appeal verb (ATTRACT)

› [ I ] to be interesting or attractive:

Such music managed to appeal to the tastes of both young and old.

appeal verb (ARGUE)

› [ I/T ] to request formally that a decision, esp. a legal or official one, be changed:

[ T ] The verdict was appealed to a higher court.

appeal verb (REQUEST)

› [ I ] to make a serious or formal request for help, esp. in an emergency:

Blood supplies are running low, and the Red Cross is appealing for blood donations.

appealnoun

us ​ /əˈpil/

appeal noun (ATTRACTIVENESS)

› [ U ] the quality of being interesting or attractive:

Eating out has lost much of its appeal.

appeal noun (LEGAL ARGUMENT)

› [ C ] a formal request that a decision, esp. a legal or official one, be changed:

[ U ] The decision was reversed on appeal.

appeal noun (REQUEST)

› [ C ] a serious or formal request for help, esp. in a public emergency:

Many charities issued an appeal for contributions to help victims of the earthquake.

(Definition of “appeal” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“appeal” in Business English

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appealnoun

uk ​ /əˈpiːl/ us ​

› [ C or U ] LAW a request to a law court or other official organization to change a previous decision:

lodge/launch/make an appeal He has 28 days to lodge an appeal in the High Court.
an appeal against sth Her appeal against the dismissal was rejected.
We feel we have plenty of grounds for appeal.
an employment/income tax appeal
an appeal hearing/tribunal
the appeals procedure/process

› [ C ] a request for something, especially money, information, or help:

launch/make an appeal The Red Cross launched an appeal after a huge earthquake hit Haiti.
an appeal for sth The Society made an appeal for funds to purchase the building and grounds.
The development and modernization work is being funded from a successful capital appeal launched last year.

› [ U ] MARKETING a quality that makes people like something or want to buy it:

A well-chosen set of photographs gives the book added appeal.
market/customer appeal The products have all been researched and tested for market appeal.
have wide/broad/universal appeal

appealverb

uk ​ /əˈpiːl/ us ​

› [ I or T ] LAW to ask a higher law court to consider again a decision made by a lower court, especially in order to reduce or prevent a punishment:

appeal to sth They're appealing to the High Court to reduce the fine.
appeal against sth The trust appealed against the injunction, but a High Court has yet to rule.
appeal a decision/ruling/verdict

› [ I ] to formally ask for an official decision to be changed:

appeal to sth Any woman who believes she is the subject of discrimination over pension rights can appeal to an industrial tribunal.
appeal against sth A group of radio stations is to appeal against the decision to charge huge royalties for internet radio.
Our formal complaints system sets out clearly how to make complaints and how you can appeal decisions.

› [ I ] to ask the public for something such as money, information, or help:

appeal for sth How could we appeal for more resources?
appeal to sb for sth We are appealing to the public for information.
appeal for/to sb to do sth Detectives are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

› [ I ] to interest or attract someone:

Our partner company has local knowledge and will know which products appeal.
appeal to sb The new phone is designed to appeal to consumers who find normal phone tariffs confusing.

(Definition of “appeal” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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appeal

When fundamental democratic rights and issues of civil and minority rights are at stake, any appeal to reasons of state or economic interest is false and inadmissible.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
In this confusing situation, it also feels necessary to appeal to the hunger strikers and their families to react so that no human life is lost.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Low-budget productions in the tradition of the film d'auteur often cannot be made without the aid of national support funds and frequently appeal to a limited audience of young intellectuals.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
I can therefore only appeal to everyone to vote in favour of the report and to go home and work on their own governments, organisations and the media, too.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The result of this is that, even where a request is manifestly unfounded, the applicant could then remain on our territory while awaiting a final ruling on his appeal.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
They must not become a kind of appeal court; on the contrary, they must focus on broad issues, general questions, principles and the like.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
I would appeal to all, while going down the road thus set out, to leave plenty of room for diplomatic manoeuvre and negotiation.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Warnings should appeal to the smokers' own perception of the environment and should not be formulated such that their effect is like water off a duck' s back.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
There should be a fair appeal process.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
I also appeal to industry to do their part in helping us with the public relations work so that acceptance will increase.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English

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