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 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:
Jesus’ crucifixion, in Wright’s telling, becomes yet another instance of justice gone awry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
In one large-scale project, for instance, the New York City Housing Authority is installing pumps for thousands of tenants in municipal housing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Meta, for instance, is projected to see more than 500% growth in earnings.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 18, 2026
So when, for instance, a federal agency like the Department of Veterans Affairs defines a medical term in determining which veterans get benefits, a court has limited discretion to second-guess that expert analysis.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2026
For instance, if you want to say ‘I’m in love with you,’ you’d use the first-person singular form of ‘estar’—‘estoy’—because that’s something that can change.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
As evidence, he invokes, throughout the book, numerous instances of one nation waging war on another, or assisting U.S. forces against rival tribes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Beale said there had been instances of guests running up and down the hallways, pressing all the buzzers in the stair and throwing things out the window onto the street.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The combinations produced more than 100 instances in which a sweetener's effect on bacterial growth changed in the presence of another substance.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Google DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis warned AI capabilities were growing fast, telling the conference in Dublin such instances were "early warning shots" fired by systems that "aren't that powerful yet".
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
I say that because there are instances when she’ll look at me and there’s a noticeable change in her eyes.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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
The next day I instanced a rather apt example.
From Jungle Peace by William Beebe
One little fellow, more than once instanced in this work, a single child brought up wholly by his mother, perpetrated his first fib when he was about twenty-two months old.
From Children's Ways by James Sully
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
Communication is no longer by words, but by the instancing of whole 85 biographies, epics, systems of philosophy, and epochs of history, in bulk.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume 9 by Robert Louis Stevenson
I cannot forbear instancing a few of these, because it may be of some use to those who shall have it in their power to be more cautious for the future.
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. - Volume 07 Historical and Political Tracts-Irish by Temple Scott
The smile, and this instancing by the girl-mother of her own tiny flesh and blood affected me strangely; they spoke of so tranquil a despair.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 18 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson
He is perhaps the same person who remarked on the late Mr. Robertson's fondness for monosyllables as titles for his plays, and after instancing Caste, Ours, and School, ended his list with Society.
From Literary Blunders by Henry Benjamin Wheatley
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