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TOEIC Link Part 5: device versus devise

Device is a noun meaning a tool or piece of equipment. Devise is a verb meaning to plan or invent something. Part 5 pairs them because they differ by one letter, so reading whether the slot needs a thing or an action decides the answer.

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TOEIC Link Part 5: device versus devise

Device and devise differ by a single letter at the end, and in fast speech the difference can be hard to hear, which is exactly why Part 5 likes to place them in the same answer set. The split is clean once you know it: device is a noun meaning a tool, gadget, or piece of equipment, while devise is a verb meaning to plan, invent, or work out. The grammar of the slot — not the sound — tells you which one belongs. For the broader skill of matching the answer to the grammatical role of the slot, see advice versus advise, which works exactly the same way.

The core rule: thing versus action

  • device (noun) means a tool or piece of equipment: a mobile device / The device stopped charging. / We tested the new safety device.
  • devise (verb) means to plan or invent: They devised a new pricing strategy. / We need to devise a backup plan. / The team devised a way to cut costs.

A memory hook: device ends in c like electronic — it is a thing. devise ends in se like revise and supervise — both are verbs, both are actions. If the slot names something you can hold, point to, or count, you want the noun device; if the slot describes something a person does, you want the verb devise.

How to read the slot

  • A noun is needed → device. If the slot follows an article (a, an, the) or an adjective (new, portable, medical), or comes after a preposition, choose the noun: The factory installed a new tracking (blank) → device.
  • A verb is needed → devise. If the slot sits between a subject and an object as the main action, or follows to, will, must, need to, choose the verb: The committee will (blank) a new policy → devise.

The fastest test: look at the word right before the blank. A, an, the, or an adjective in front means a noun belongs there — that is device. To, will, must, or a subject in front means a verb belongs there — that is devise.

Common Part 5 traps

  • Adjectives are the giveaway. A clever (blank), a portable (blank), the safety (blank) — an adjective in front always signals the noun device.
  • to, will, must, need to flag the verb. An infinitive marker or a modal before the slot means a verb follows, so you want devise: They need to (blank) a solution → devise.
  • The plural trap. Devices (with -s) is the plural noun; devises (with -s) is the third-person verb. Several devices (things) versus She devises a plan (action). The surrounding grammar still decides.
  • Do not choose by sound. The two are near-homophones, so rely on the part of speech the slot demands, not on how the option sounds.

Quick check

Decide whether the slot needs a noun (a thing) or a verb (an action), then choose.

  1. Engineers will (blank) a more efficient cooling system this year.
  2. Every employee received a security (blank) for two-factor login.
  3. The startup managed to (blank) a clever workaround for the bug.
  4. The medical (blank) must be sterilized before each use.

Answers: 1. devise (verb, after will) 2. device (noun, after a security) 3. devise (verb, after to) 4. device (noun, after the medical).

The takeaway

Device and devise differ by one letter and one part of speech, so ignore the sound and read the structure: when the slot names a tool or piece of equipment after an article or adjective, you want the noun device, and when it describes the act of planning or inventing after to, will, or a subject, you want the verb devise. Check the word immediately before the blank and the answer usually settles itself. For more pairs where structure decides the answer, see affect versus effect and principal versus principle.