instruction

American  

[in-struhk-shuhn] / ɪnˈstrʌk ʃən /

noun

1. the act or practice of instructing or teaching; education.

   Synonyms:

   schooling, indoctrination, exercise, drill, training

2. knowledge or information imparted.

3. an item of such knowledge or information.

4. Usually instructions. orders or directions.

   The instructions are on the back of the box.

5. the act of furnishing with authoritative directions.

   Synonyms:

   mandate, command

6. Computers. a command given to a computer to carry out a particular operation.

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instruction British  

/ ɪnˈstrʌkʃən /

noun

1. a direction; order

2. the process or act of imparting knowledge; teaching; education

3. computing a part of a program consisting of a coded command to the computer to perform a specified function

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instruction Scientific  

/ ĭn-strŭk′shən /

1. A sequence of bits that tells a computer's central processing unit to perform a particular operation. An instruction can also contain data to be used in the operation.

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Other Word Forms

• instructional adjective
• misinstruction noun
• noninstructional adjective
• noninstructionally adverb
• overinstruction noun
• preinstruction noun
• reinstruction noun
• self-instruction noun

Etymology

Origin of instruction

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English instruccio(u)n, from Latin instructiōn-, stem of instructiō; equivalent to instruct + -ion

Example Sentences

Bardot had left instructions that her funeral be conducted without fanfare or ostentation - but the people of Saint-Tropez wanted to pay her a proper adieu on Wednesday.

From BBC

The appeals court judges noted that Mahmoud dealt with curriculum and wrote that Benitez was likely applying that case too broadly to an area that did not involve instruction.

From Los Angeles Times

"To report out their temperature measurements, we designed a special computer instruction that encodes a value, such as the measured temperature, in the wiggles of a little dance the robot performs," says Blaauw.

From Science Daily

Executives received instructions telling them to expect elevated security throughout the day.

From The Wall Street Journal

The company provided instructions for returning the products and obtaining a refund, as well as a phone number to answer consumer questions.

From Barron's

Related Words

• direction
• discipline
• guidance
• information
• lesson
• preparation
• schooling
• teaching
• training