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.
Messenger RNA carries the instructions needed for cells to make proteins.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
They were briefly allowed to return to their apartment that evening, only to receive instructions to leave again early Friday.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
Last week, an email sent to a Best Buy affiliate offering instructions about a preorder for GTA VI leaked.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
As ever with AI, using imprecise instructions can end in tears.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
“Have no fear; on the subject of Gallery Seventeen, Mr. Hixby’s instructions are quite thorough.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
