instruct

American  

[in-struhkt] / ɪnˈstrʌkt /

verb (used with object)

• instructs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• instructed,
  past participle,  past
• instructing
  present participle

1. to furnish with knowledge, especially by a systematic method; teach; train; educate.

   Synonyms:

   school, indoctrinate, discipline, drill, coach, tutor

2. to furnish with orders or directions; direct; order; command.

   The doctor instructed me to diet.

   Synonyms:

   prescribe

3. to furnish with information; inform; apprise.

   Synonyms:

   enlighten

4. Law. (of a judge) to guide (a jury) by outlining the legal principles involved in the case under consideration.

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instruct British  

/ ɪnˈstrʌkt /

verb

1. to direct to do something; order

2. to teach (someone) how to do (something)

3. to furnish with information; apprise

4. law

   1. (esp of a client to his solicitor or a solicitor to a barrister) to give relevant facts or information to

   2. to authorize (a barrister or solicitor) to conduct a case on a person's behalf

      to instruct counsel

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Synonym Usage

See teach.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• instructedness
  noun
• misinstruct
  verb (used with object)
• overinstruct
  verb (used with object)
• preinstruct
  verb (used with object)
• reinstruct
  verb (used with object)
• instructible
  adjective
• quasi-instructed
  adjective
• self-instructed
  adjective
• self-instructing
  adjective
• uninstructible
  adjective
• uninstructing
  adjective
• well-instructed
  adjective
• instructedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• instructing
  present
• instructed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• instruct
  simple
• instructs
  simple
• have instructed
  perfect
• has instructed
  perfect
• am instructing
  progressive
• are instructing
  progressive
• is instructing
  progressive
• have been instructing
  perfect progressive
• has been instructing
  perfect progressive

Past

• instructed
  simple
• had instructed
  perfect
• was instructing
  progressive
• were instructing
  progressive
• had been instructing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will instruct
  simple
• will have instructed
  perfect
• will be instructing
  progressive
• will have been instructing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of instruct

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin instructus, past participle of instruere “to equip, train, set in order,” equivalent to in- “in” + struc- (variant stem of struere “to put together”) + -tus past participle suffix; see in- ²

Explanation

This website is designed to instruct visitors about the meaning of words and their correct usage. To instruct is to give instructions, to teach. Teachers are often called instructors because their job is to instruct, to give knowledge or instructions. The subtle difference between "teach" and instruct is that you can teach almost anything: concepts, ideas, theories or, say, history. When you instruct someone, you're giving them a set of tools or tasks to do something specific. That's why furniture, toys, and model rocket kits come with instructions: they instruct you how to assemble them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

instruct instructs instructed instructing

Some of those notes might ask that they see certain evidence again, they might want to see certain transcripts, they might need the judge to instruct them on the law.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026

If you do pay extra to speed up your loan payoff, instruct your lender to apply all extra funds directly to your principal balance immediately and to keep your next payment due date unchanged.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Characters keep clunkily reciting statistics and facts everyone in the room would already know, solely to instruct the audience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

It is understood manager Thomas Tuchel is set to instruct his players to avoid jumping over the hoardings to ensure there is no repeat.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

They began to plan people’s lives and libraries; they began to instruct and push about the very people who had come to Mars to get away from being instructed and ruled and pushed about.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

The result is a personalised anti-cancer jab which is specific to the patient's tumour and instructs the immune system to recognise and attack any tumour cells that remain.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Google's statement said the company prevents "image creation on harmful topics" and its AI policy instructs users against "misinformation, misrepresentation or misleading activities."

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

The memorandum instructs banks to file suspicious activity reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the U.S. government’s financial intelligence unit.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

When Gustavo Dudamel instructs the Los Angeles Philharmonic to stand at a curtain call, the players stand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

“Turn around,” she instructs, and when I do, she loops the sash around my waist and ties it in the back with a wide bow.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

Another agent couldn’t find the data to create a financial model, so it instructed itself to make up the data and “be transparent only if asked.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

At one point, a Greenlandic politician told ProPublica, some schoolchildren were instructed to practice hiding under their desks in case of such an event.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

Carney instructed his special envoy to Europe to "scope out the most ambitious possibilities short of full membership", the paper reported.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

So why would athletes be instructed to wear national team kit at the Ultimates?

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

“On the corner, please,” he instructed them, and they put it down with a bang.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Given how precarious the slope was, the group decided Mingma G would hang back and monitor by drone, instructing the three climbers.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

They then select mutations unique to the patient’s cancer to incorporate into an mRNA molecule, which provides the genetic code instructing cells to produce proteins with those mutations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

It’s not necessarily easy for entire school districts to shift to a new standard, given that teachers have been instructing using these calculators for years.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Rather than directly instructing participants to sit in a particular way, the team altered the environment so that posture changed without the participants knowing why.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

She spoke to me as if instructing a first-grader.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• advise
• brief
• discipline
• disclose
• educate
• guide
• notify
• tell
• train
• tutor