instruct
Americanverb (used with object)
-
instructs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
instructed,
past participle, past
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instructing
present participle
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to furnish with knowledge, especially by a systematic method; teach; train; educate.
- Synonyms:
- school, indoctrinate, discipline, drill, coach, tutor
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to furnish with orders or directions; direct; order; command.
The doctor instructed me to diet.
- Synonyms:
- prescribe
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to furnish with information; inform; apprise.
- Synonyms:
- enlighten
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Law. (of a judge) to guide (a jury) by outlining the legal principles involved in the case under consideration.
verb
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to direct to do something; order
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to teach (someone) how to do (something)
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to furnish with information; apprise
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law
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(esp of a client to his solicitor or a solicitor to a barrister) to give relevant facts or information to
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to authorize (a barrister or solicitor) to conduct a case on a person's behalf
to instruct counsel
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Synonym Usage
See teach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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instructednessnoun
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misinstructverb (used with object)
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overinstructverb (used with object)
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preinstructverb (used with object)
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reinstructverb (used with object)
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instructibleadjective
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quasi-instructedadjective
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self-instructedadjective
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self-instructingadjective
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uninstructibleadjective
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uninstructingadjective
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well-instructedadjective
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instructedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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instructsimple
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instructssimple
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have instructedperfect
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has instructedperfect
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am instructingprogressive
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are instructingprogressive
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is instructingprogressive
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have been instructingperfect progressive
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has been instructingperfect progressive
Past
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instructedsimple
-
had instructedperfect
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was instructingprogressive
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were instructingprogressive
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had been instructingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of instruct
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin instructus, past participle of instruere “to equip, train, set in order,” equivalent to in- “in” + struc- (variant stem of struere “to put together”) + -tus past participle suffix; see in- 2
Explanation
This website is designed to instruct visitors about the meaning of words and their correct usage. To instruct is to give instructions, to teach. Teachers are often called instructors because their job is to instruct, to give knowledge or instructions. The subtle difference between "teach" and instruct is that you can teach almost anything: concepts, ideas, theories or, say, history. When you instruct someone, you're giving them a set of tools or tasks to do something specific. That's why furniture, toys, and model rocket kits come with instructions: they instruct you how to assemble them.
Vocabulary lists containing instruct
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 3
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Words to Know and Academic Words, Unit 5
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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:
A Board of Regents commission recommended this change in 2023, and on Monday the Regents voted to instruct the state Education Department to move ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Some of those notes might ask that they see certain evidence again, they might want to see certain transcripts, they might need the judge to instruct them on the law.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
If you do pay extra to speed up your loan payoff, instruct your lender to apply all extra funds directly to your principal balance immediately and to keep your next payment due date unchanged.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
The San Francisco company, founded in 2022, enables engineers to instruct software in English to run coding tasks autonomously.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
The first thing Mrs. Edina Jongwe did was hand Nhamo over to the servants and instruct them to keep the girl out of her sight.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
While the Senate Ethics Committee instructs filers that they can use a recent tax assessment to set the worth of certain property, they must adjust it to market value if it is assessed below that.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
The result is a personalised anti-cancer jab which is specific to the patient's tumour and instructs the immune system to recognise and attack any tumour cells that remain.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Google's statement said the company prevents "image creation on harmful topics" and its AI policy instructs users against "misinformation, misrepresentation or misleading activities."
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
The state even instructs county officials to accept sample ballots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
I’m expecting a production meeting in which Plutarch instructs me where to stand and gives me my cue for shooting Snow.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
He said the holdout "would not apply the law of reasonable doubt" as instructed by the judge, adding: "That's not right. And that's why I was upset."
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
They instructed the chatbot to send a “pull request” or suggested change—to a documentation file in the repository.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
At one point, a Greenlandic politician told ProPublica, some schoolchildren were instructed to practice hiding under their desks in case of such an event.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
This season, Premier League referees have been instructed to clamp down on grappling at corners, something that became a big talking point last term.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The police of the division have been instructed to keep a sharp look-out for straying children, especially when very young, in and around Hampstead Heath, and for any stray dog which may be about.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
They then select mutations unique to the patient’s cancer to incorporate into an mRNA molecule, which provides the genetic code instructing cells to produce proteins with those mutations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
It’s not necessarily easy for entire school districts to shift to a new standard, given that teachers have been instructing using these calculators for years.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
However, it was forced to issue a formal warning to Israeli broadcaster Kan in the lead-up to the competition after its contestant released videos instructing fans to "vote 10 times for Israel".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Rather than directly instructing participants to sit in a particular way, the team altered the environment so that posture changed without the participants knowing why.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Ted was good enough to hand me a fresh towel before opening the back door and instructing me to lie down.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
