instrument
Americannoun
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a mechanical tool or implement, especially one used for delicate or precision work.
surgical instruments.
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a contrivance or apparatus for producing musical sounds.
a stringed instrument.
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a means by which something is effected or done; agency.
an instrument of government.
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a device for measuring the present value of a quantity under observation.
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a mechanical or electronic measuring device, especially one used in navigation.
landing a plane by instruments.
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a formal legal document, as a draft or bond.
negotiable instruments.
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a person used by another merely as a means to some private end; tool or dupe.
verb (used with object)
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to equip with instruments, as a machine or manufacturing process.
to instrument a space vehicle.
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to arrange a composition for musical instruments; orchestrate.
noun
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a mechanical implement or tool, esp one used for precision work
surgical instrument
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music any of various contrivances or mechanisms that can be played to produce musical tones or sounds
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an important factor or agency in something
her evidence was an instrument in his arrest
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informal a person used by another to gain an end; dupe; tool
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a measuring device, such as a pressure gauge or ammeter
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a device or system for use in navigation or control, esp of aircraft
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( as modifier )
instrument landing
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a formal legal document
verb
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another word for orchestrate
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to equip with instruments
Usage
What are other ways to say instrument? An instrument is a mechanical contrivance, especially one used for delicate or precision work. When should you use this noun over tool, implement, or utensil? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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instrumentsimple
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instrumentssimple
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have instrumentedperfect
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has instrumentedperfect
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am instrumentingprogressive
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are instrumentingprogressive
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is instrumentingprogressive
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have been instrumentingperfect progressive
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has been instrumentingperfect progressive
Past
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instrumentedsimple
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had instrumentedperfect
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was instrumentingprogressive
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were instrumentingprogressive
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had been instrumentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of instrument
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin instrūmentum equipment, equivalent to instrū-, stem of instruere “to equip” ( see instruct) + -mentum -ment
Explanation
An instrument is usually a tool for making music, like a piano or a guitar, but it can also be used for almost any kind of tool or thing you use to get something done. A thermometer is an instrument for measuring temperature. A violin is an instrument used for making music. Recent economic woes were blamed on the abuse of certain financial instruments, which is just a fancy way of saying "deals." Your eye is a very sensitive light-collecting instrument, though you'll need a man-made instrument, like an X-ray telescope, if you want to see light outside of the visible spectrum.
Vocabulary lists containing instrument
Macbeth's "Is this a dagger..." soliloquy
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List 3
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John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961
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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.
See Examples For:
Built using proven hardware, the instrument relies on a compact silicon detector to measure the energy carried by incoming space radiation.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Many young people across the world can say they play an instrument, but not many are quite like Freya Terris.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Towards the end of the night, just before a closer with the Faces’ “Ooh La La,” Murray brought out a one-of-a-kind instrument for a big flourish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
And it would give America a diplomatic instrument that matched the moment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
And one evening, when Bess and Harry’s daughter, Margaret, sat down at her grand piano, a back leg of the instrument plunged through the floor, sending a snow of plaster dust into the dining room.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Musically and vocally gifted, they wring harmonies and beats from an assortment of instruments, mixing genres and styles with an eloquence that surpasses the exposition sprinkled into the lyrics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Under the plans, it will run for fewer hours, some of its instruments will shut, and its muon experiments will close altogether.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Outdoor spaces present particular challenges, including keeping instruments tuned in mercurial weather and the quirks associated with amplifying music to an al fresco venue’s distant precincts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Paper silver, which refers to financial instruments tracking the price of the metal — such as futures contracts — is being “sold off while access to physical silver is becoming more strategically important,” Skoyles said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
But it’s only been this summer that we’ve mastered our instruments.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Because of these risks, the landslide area has been extensively instrumented since 2020.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025
When NASA’s most powerful rocket ever attempts its first flight this month, its highest profile payload will be three instrumented mannequins, setting off on a 42-day journey beyond the Moon and back.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 15, 2022
Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, a U.S. naval facility, is the world's largest instrumented, "multi-dimensional" testing and training missile range, according to the U.S.
From Fox News ● Feb. 22, 2022
"This is the most heavily instrumented vehicle we will ever fly so we will get a tremendous amount of engineering data on vibration and temperature and stress, acoustics," said Mr Shannon.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2021
We are unlikely to determine the answer to this question without landing instrumented space vehicles on the Titanian surface.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
“We are instrumenting the car in a way that is overloading the driver just like we were overloading the helicopter pilots,” said Strayer, director of the university’s Center for the Prevention of Distracted Driving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
This can be a result of budgetary constraints, the difficulty of instrumenting treacherous volcanoes and, in some cases, red tape preventing the placement of sensors in wilderness areas.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2021
“And we need to rethink what this instrumenting of the world — all that data being generated and collected — means for privacy and how all this data is used.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2015
Yet little has been done to probe the underlying crust and mantle, mainly because instrumenting the entire state is so expensive.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 5, 2013
Niels and I get to work carefully instrumenting the sleep logger and attaching it to the bird.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2011
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.
