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
A will is typically considered the baseline estate-planning document and the key place to record your last instructions.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
Both play roles in managing RNA, which carries instructions for making proteins.
From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026
OpenAI’s rivals, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, offer simple tools to port over your custom instructions from a competitor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
He also wrote instructions on paper, “rap four times,” “rap seven.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
