instance
Americannoun
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instances
plural
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a case or occurrence of anything.
fresh instances of oppression.
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an example put forth in proof or illustration.
to cite a few instances.
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Also called instanced dungeon. (in an online multiplayer video game) a zone, as a dungeon, to which access is limited to a player or group of players entering simultaneously and working together: each instance is one copy of the zone in which the quests, enemies, items, events, etc., are staged exclusively for the player or group accessing it, without interference from other player characters in the larger online population of the game server.
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Law. the institution and prosecution of a case.
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Archaic. urgency in speech or action.
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Obsolete. an impelling motive.
verb (used with object)
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instances,
present (3rd person singular)
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instanced,
past participle, past
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instancing
present participle
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to cite as an instance or example.
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to exemplify by an instance.
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(in an online multiplayer video game) to design (a zone) as a set of identical copies, staged exclusively for the player or group accessing it, without interference from the larger population of the game server, thereby presenting key narrative elements or achievements in a controlled environment.
The game developers instanced a winter wonderland with special quests for the holiday event.
verb (used without object)
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instances,
present (3rd person singular)
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instanced,
past participle, past
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instancing
present participle
idioms
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at the instance of, at the urging or suggestion of.
He applied for the assistantship at the instance of his professor.
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for instance, as an example; for example.
If you were to go to Italy, for instance, you would get a different perspective on our culture.
noun
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a case or particular example
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for or as an example
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a specified stage in proceedings; step (in the phrases in the first, second, etc, instance )
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urgent request or demand (esp in the phrase at the instance of )
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logic
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an expression derived from another by instantiation
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See substitution
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archaic motive or reason
verb
Synonym Usage
See case 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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instancesimple
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instancessimple
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have instancedperfect
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has instancedperfect
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am instancingprogressive
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are instancingprogressive
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is instancingprogressive
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have been instancingperfect progressive
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has been instancingperfect progressive
Past
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instancedsimple
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had instancedperfect
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was instancingprogressive
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were instancingprogressive
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had been instancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of instance
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English instaunce, from Middle French instance, from Medieval Latin īnstantia “case, example” ( Latin “presence, immediate applicability; earnestness, urgency”); see origin at instant, -ance
Explanation
An instance is a specific example or case of something. One instance of being chased by a growling dog can make a person spend his whole life being afraid of animals. It's common to find instance used in the expression "for instance," meaning "for example." Bright colors — for instance, pink, green, and blue — can cheer you up when you're feeling sad. Instance can also mean "occurrence." Several instances of cheating might be reported after a math test, for example. In the sixteenth century, the Medieval Latin word instantia meant "example to the contrary," leading to an early definition of instance as "single objection."
Vocabulary lists containing instance
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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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:
"Eating while distracted, for instance watching TV, can lead people to consume more because they pay less attention to how much they've eaten," says Higgs.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Some of his clients’ parents provide an intrafamily loan, for instance, where instead of a mortgage, the buyer uses family money to finance the purchase.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
Some of the Denisovan-derived variants in Papuan genomes, for instance, appear to influence immune function.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
A recent Facebook post from first lady Melania Trump’s account—announcing a computing challenge for students—referred to AI instead of SI in one instance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
She told them, for instance, that even though she was responsible for evaluating subprime mortgage bonds, she wasn’t allowed by her bosses simply to downgrade the ones she thought deserved to be downgraded.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
She said the documents would be reviewed and in some instances may need to be redacted "for the purposes of avoiding prejudice to national security or international relations".
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
This week the president offered a $1 million reward to any American who reports proven instances of fraud.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
And in rare instances, what we see can be inexplicable—or downright terrifying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
“There have been numerous instances of fraud and corruption proliferating unabated within the homelessness-industrial complex,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
There were supposed to be also instances when the spirits returned to the wrong bodies and the person suffered from amnesia.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
As such, players can expect to wait longer than normal to log into game servers, visit new Endwalker specific areas, and experience instanced content-like duties.
From The Verge ● Nov. 30, 2021
The FX we’d used earlier were now composed of millions of these instanced pieces, and she was having a hard time loading them all because it took up so much memory.
From The Verge ● Jan. 30, 2019
World and all the other potential character builds and instanced stories in the offing.
From Time ● Sep. 11, 2012
Her growth is instanced by the assessment on real estate, which rose from $5,400,000 in 1854, to $13,000,000 in twenty years.
From Ocean to Ocean on Horseback Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Devel by Willard W. Glazier
Here we are brought face to face again with those same persons whom I have already instanced.
From Search-Light Letters by Robert Grant
In this way Gilgamesh proceeds to upbraid the goddess, instancing, in addition, her cruel treatment of a shepherd, and apparently also of a giant, whom she changed to a dwarf.
From The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Morris Jastrow
The book is in a way one of purpose, inculcating the danger of wooing opera-girls, and instancing it with three very weak young men, another duke, a rich young parvenu, and a musician.
From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century by George Saintsbury
The Vanderpools were sure of this and the Englishman, instancing India, became quite eloquent.
From The Quest of the Silver Fleece A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois
In reply to his denunciations the suitors accuse Penelope of deluding them, instancing how she promised to choose a husband as soon as she had finished weaving a winding sheet for her father-in-law Laertes.
From The Book of the Epic by H. A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber
On this occasion the admiral was at great pains to explain the nature of this phenomenon to the people by instancing the example of Aetna and several other known volcanoes.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 08 The Later Renaissance: from Gutenberg to the Reformation by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
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