Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

instrument

[in-struh-muhnt] / ˈɪn strə mənt /




Usage

What are other ways to say instrument? An instrument is anything used in doing a certain type of work or producing a certain result, especially such as requires delicacy, accuracy, or precision: surgical or musical instruments. A tool is a contrivance held in and worked by the hand, for assisting the work of (especially) mechanics or skilled laborers: a carpenter's tools. An implement is any tool or contrivance designed or used for a particular purpose: agricultural implements. A utensil is especially an article for domestic use: kitchen utensils. 

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The instrument was funded by the National Science Foundation.

From Science Daily Jul. 16, 2026

"We should not treat AI as a threat to good jobs. We should use it as an instrument to create them," he said.

From Barron's Jul. 15, 2026

The initiative was inspired by Ed Sheeran's charity, which has funded similar schemes in libraries and youth centres, as well as offering instrument loans to aspiring musicians.

From BBC Jul. 13, 2026

Towards the end of the night, just before a closer with the Faces’ “Ooh La La,” Murray brought out a one-of-a-kind instrument for a big flourish.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 11, 2026

Our choices as to which instrument to play, in other words, are not entirely our own.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

This series is also a reminder that long before the founding, it was the people who made constitutional and legal change with their own hands, through their own instruments of government.

From Slate Jul. 20, 2026

It’s well to remember that in the early days of synthesizing instruments, violins with perfect vibrato sounded especially fake, until tiny errors generated by chance were added to the sine waves.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 16, 2026

They can align government, industry and society toward a single technological objective through instruments that are unavailable and undesirable in a democracy.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 9, 2026

Under the plans, it will run for fewer hours, some of its instruments will shut, and its muon experiments will close altogether.

From BBC Jul. 9, 2026

He played brass instruments: trumpet, trombone, and tuba, as well as the flute.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Because of these risks, the landslide area has been extensively instrumented since 2020.

From Science Daily Dec. 21, 2025

I worked at the facility from 1973 to 1976, and Metro’s 1000-series cars were instrumented and running around loops to identify problem areas.

From Washington Post Jan. 27, 2023

When NASA’s most powerful rocket ever attempts its first flight this month, its highest profile payload will be three instrumented mannequins, setting off on a 42-day journey beyond the Moon and back.

From Science Magazine Aug. 15, 2022

Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, a U.S. naval facility, is the world's largest instrumented, "multi-dimensional" testing and training missile range, according to the U.S.

From Fox News Feb. 22, 2022

We are unlikely to determine the answer to this question without landing instrumented space vehicles on the Titanian surface.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

“We are instrumenting the car in a way that is overloading the driver just like we were overloading the helicopter pilots,” said Strayer, director of the university’s Center for the Prevention of Distracted Driving.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 6, 2022

This can be a result of budgetary constraints, the difficulty of instrumenting treacherous volcanoes and, in some cases, red tape preventing the placement of sensors in wilderness areas.

From New York Times Nov. 9, 2021

“And we need to rethink what this instrumenting of the world — all that data being generated and collected — means for privacy and how all this data is used.”

From New York Times Aug. 4, 2015

Yet little has been done to probe the underlying crust and mantle, mainly because instrumenting the entire state is so expensive.

From Scientific American Nov. 5, 2013

Niels and I get to work carefully instrumenting the sleep logger and attaching it to the bird.

From New York Times Apr. 15, 2011




Vocabulary lists containing instrument


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training