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.
As the season progressed, Guardiola altered his instructions hoping to find the right combination of players to carry out these tasks.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
His arguments were echoed in Alito’s opinion, namely that defense contractors have a difficult job balancing their operational instructions with the messy reality of wartime, and that lawsuits against them would harm U.S. military efforts.
From Slate • Apr. 22, 2026
Jochen Heinz, an executive from German factory machinery maker SW Machines, cautioned that AI can sometimes make mistakes by, for instance, giving misleading instructions for repairs or incorrectly claiming to have detected problems.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
“My instructions are very much about protecting the fundamentals of this agreement, not revisiting them,” Charette said at a conference in the capital, organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
“My instructions were to photograph you in your bedroom,” the photographer says.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
