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definitions

instrument

[in-struh-muh nt]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR instrument ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object)

to equip with instruments, as a machine or manufacturing process: to instrument a space vehicle.
to arrange a composition for musical instruments; orchestrate.

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A philharmonic is a symphony orchestra or the group that supports it. A symphony is a large orchestra. An orchestra is a large group of musicians who play together on various instruments, usually including strings, woodwinds, brass instruments, and percussion instruments. So, philharmonic and symphony orchestra are synonymous. Philharmonic comes from Greek words meaning ‘love of harmony’ and in this instance is a colloquial shortening of “philharmonic society” or “philharmonic orchestra.” The term only dates back to …
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RELATED WORDS

gear, apparatus, gadget, appliance, mechanism, machine, equipment, machinery, device, gizmo, medium, material, organ, vehicle, contraption, paraphernalia, utensil, doodad, contrivance, tackle

Origin of instrument

1250–1300; Middle English < Latin instrūmentum equip-ment, equivalent to instrū-, stem of instruere to equip (see instruct) + -mentum -ment; see instruct
Related formsun·der·in·stru·ment, noun

Synonyms for instrument

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR instrument ON THESAURUS.COM
1. See tool.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for instrument

Contemporary Examples of instrument

Historical Examples of instrument

  • As respects this allocation, how would I modify that instrument?

    'Tis Sixty Years Since

    Charles Francis Adams

  • But the knowledge of the instrument once acquired never left Shakespeare.

  • It was only in this room at Mrs. Menotti's that Rico fully enjoyed his instrument.

    Rico and Wiseli

    Johanna Spyri

  • The finer the instrument is to be, the more massive must be the foundation.

  • It is not every singer that could keep Time with his voice and instrument, for a whole evening.

    Time's Portraiture

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for instrument

instrument

noun (ˈɪnstrəmənt)

a mechanical implement or tool, esp one used for precision worksurgical instrument
music any of various contrivances or mechanisms that can be played to produce musical tones or sounds
an important factor or agency in somethingher evidence was an instrument in his arrest
informal a person used by another to gain an end; dupe; tool
a measuring device, such as a pressure gauge or ammeter
  1. a device or system for use in navigation or control, esp of aircraft
  2. (as modifier)instrument landing
a formal legal document

verb (ˈɪnstrəˌmɛnt) (tr)

another word for orchestrate (def. 1)
to equip with instruments

Word Origin for instrument

C13: from Latin instrūmentum tool, equipment, from instruere to erect, furnish; see instruct
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for instrument
n.

late 13c., "musical instrument," from Old French instrument "means, device; musical instrument" (14c., earlier estrument, 13c.) and directly from Latin instrumentem "a tool, apparatus, furniture, dress, document," from instruere "arrange, furnish" (see instruct). Meaning "tool, implement, utensil" is early 14c. in English; meaning "written document by which formal expression is given to a legal act" is from early 15c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for instrument

instrument

[ĭn′strə-mənt]

n.

A tool or implement, as for surgery.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.