tooling

American  

[too-ling] / ˈtu lɪŋ /

noun

1. work done with a tool or tools; tooled ornamentation, as on wood, stone, or leather.

2. Machinery.

   1. a number of tools, as in a particular factory.

   2. the planning and arrangement of tools for a particular manufacturing process.

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tooling British  

/ ˈtuːlɪŋ /

noun

1. any decorative work done with a tool, esp a design stamped onto a book cover, piece of leatherwork, etc

2. the selection, provision, and setting up of tools, esp for a machining operation

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Etymology

Origin of tooling

First recorded in 1665–75; tool + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

At a sprawling factory in Louisville, Ky., where Ford used to build gas-powered SUVs, crews are working to set up tooling and the new trio of assembly lines to build the EV.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

“The company sits at multiple control points across the enterprise estate—cloud infrastructure, productivity software, developer tooling and security — which should allow it to shape enterprise AI adoption rather than respond to it,” Jader wrote.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Prompts are becoming a core part of financial tooling.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026

Arsenal-1 will use a common set of commercial manufacturing tooling, machinery, and processes for every type of autonomous vehicle that Anduril produces, the company said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

Sitting down, he lifted the saddle onto his knee and looked close at the silver and the tooling.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• color
• design
• finery
• ornament
• plaque
• ribbon
• trinket
• wreath