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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.

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The team observed NGC 4696 for nearly eight hours using JWST's NIRSpec instrument.

From Science Daily Jul. 18, 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

There was also a third, even more mind-bending, way to think of this new instrument: as a near-perfect replica of a subprime mortgage bond.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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

They include scientific instruments such as a robotic arm for removing space debris, an Earth observation camera and satellites, including one from a German company.

From BBC Jul. 18, 2026

Building larger detectors and improving their spatial resolution can increase the odds of observing the faint signals they produce, but doing so often makes the instruments more complicated and expensive.

From Science Daily Jul. 17, 2026

Musically and vocally gifted, they wring harmonies and beats from an assortment of instruments, mixing genres and styles with an eloquence that surpasses the exposition sprinkled into the lyrics.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 15, 2026

When they reached the FARM, Sydney was looking at a Stevenson screen, a wooden box with slats that sat on a pole like an oversize birdhouse and held weather instruments.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

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

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

The initial design for the lab, to be built over the next 5 years at the University of Idaho, calls for 24 richly instrumented soil columns topped with airtight chambers for vegetation.

From Science Magazine Oct. 12, 2021

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


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