Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for instrument. Search instead for instrumen.
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:

“You can’t rule that out that she would have been holding the instrument that caused either of those wounds?” the attorney asked.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 24, 2026

And it is great, the way that Stonehenge is great, another astronomical instrument straining at the bounds of human expression to convey our silent wonder at the mysteries of the cosmos.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 24, 2026

Their work included repeated simulations, theoretical modeling, and detailed inspections of the instrument.

From Science Daily Jul. 24, 2026

A photographer and fixture in the L.A. punk scene by 14, the fact that she didn’t play an instrument was a minor hurdle when she joined L7 in 1986.

From Salon Jul. 21, 2026

In Jim’s grand plan, PIH would become an instrument for expanding the resources to treat TB, and in the process save itself.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

The comet was exceptionally difficult to detect with these instruments.

From Science Daily Jul. 24, 2026

Counterterrorism tools are among the most powerful instruments the U.S. government possesses.

From Salon Jul. 23, 2026

The figures are adjusted for gains and losses from hedging instruments, foreign exchange derivatives and other items.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 22, 2026

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

The plastic instruments aren’t as large as the real things, but they’re plenty capable of making a racket.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

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

We're the only sport that has done this type of work with instrumented mouthguards.

From BBC Sep. 16, 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