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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.

See Examples For:

By merging the strengths of interferometric scattering microscopy and advanced detector arrays, the team created an instrument capable of resolving structures as small as approximately 120 nanometers.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

It’s hard when you’ve spent 32 years of your adult life with Peter Buck — it’s hard to find someone who has that same enthusiasm and love of the instrument.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

One possibility would be for the European Commission to deploy a legal instrument known as the "blocking mechanism".

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The longer the life of a debt instrument, the more investors are left exposed to changes in interest rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

An instrument with a slightly higher fundamental will have a slightly higher range; an instrument with a much lower fundamental will have a much lower range.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

The work has brought the observatory's powerful instruments into exceptionally sharp focus, with its main camera system now delivering image quality nearly 30% better than predicted.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

Scientists measure Antarctic sea ice using satellites equipped with instruments called passive microwave sensors.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The team expects future observations using multiple wavelengths and similarly precise instruments to uncover a wider range of elements in exoplanet atmospheres.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Shylock’s pound of flesh invokes this divine commandment, which would have been familiar to everyone in early modern Europe as governments began using bonds as financial instruments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

I follow Brie and Teddy to an empty classroom, which has nothing but folding chairs leaning against the walls and percussion instruments on shelves.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025

Then we browsed the For You page feed for each sockpuppet, recording what we saw via WebArchive.page, a specially instrumented web browser that archives all the data involved in a browsing session locally.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 30, 2023

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

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2022

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

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


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