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Definitions

instrument

[in-struh-muhnt] / ˈɪn strə mənt /
NOUN
tool, implement
Synonyms
STRONGEST
apparatus appliance device equipment gadget gear gizmo machine machinery mechanism
STRONG
contraption contrivance doodad paraphernalia tackle utensil
Antonyms
WEAK
end
NOUN
means, agent
Synonyms
STRONGEST
material mechanism medium organ vehicle
STRONG
agency channel factor force instrumentality ministry wherewithal
Antonyms
WEAK
end

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.

At 10, he studied under Dorothy Bishop at USC Prep and learned how an instrument could become an extension of a person.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

Killings involving a knife or sharp instrument fell by 21% last year, according to figures from police forces in England and Wales.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Using JWST's mid infrared instrument MIRI, the team directly imaged Epsilon Indi Ab.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

The effects have been so strong that the Fed, in a heroic feat of ex post facto rationalization, has begun to think of asset prices as another transmission mechanism for its balance-sheet policy instrument.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

The smaller the instrument, the higher the pitch, for example.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Vocabulary lists containing instrument

Macbeth's "Is this a dagger..." soliloquy

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List 3

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John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

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