- plural of instruction.
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.
They tell the ribosome that it has reached the end of the instructions for a particular protein and should release the completed chain.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
"He was, in fact, following Saudi Arabia's instructions when assisting the hijackers," said Simpson, and that these were points that Saudi Arabia had "failed to rebut."
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” she texted Deters, adding a prayer hands emoji and a PDF with bill payment instructions from American Express.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The second particle delivers DNA containing the instructions for producing the cancer-fighting CAR.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
The automat whizzed behind her shouting its instructions to keep her voice soft, but she continued to ignore it.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
