instructions
Britishplural noun
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directions, orders, or recommended rules for guidance, use, etc
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law the facts and details relating to a case given by a client to his solicitor or by a solicitor to a barrister with directions to conduct the case
to take instructions
Explanation
You know those days when you just can’t seem to remember how to do the simplest tasks? If only everything came with instructions: a guide to operating the toothpaste tube, or a manual showing you how to pour cereal. Instructions is related to the verb instruct, meaning “teach.” Instructions are sets of information that teach you how to do something or use something. The more we use technology to make our lives easier, the more we need to read instructions to help us learn how to use the technology. After all, you can’t let your robotic poodle-groomer loose on your poodle until you figure out how it works first.
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.
Such meetings are typically used to update the board and receive further instructions, if needed.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Their thoughts instead turn to trusts and beneficiary designations for after-death instructions, and they focus heavily on the documents that come into play if you get sick, like power of attorney and a healthcare proxy.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
Both play roles in managing RNA, which carries instructions for making proteins.
From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026
It also writes instructions on the kind of responses you prefer: less enthusiastic writing, perhaps, or bullet points instead of long-winded paragraphs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
"Follow the instructions exactly," whispered the old man.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
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.
