tool

American  

[tool] / tul /

noun

• tools
  plural

1. an implement, especially one held in the hand, as a hammer, saw, or file, for performing or facilitating mechanical operations.

2. any instrument of manual operation.

3. the cutting or machining part of a lathe, planer, drill, or similar machine.

4. the machine itself; a machine tool.

5. anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose.

   Education is a tool for success.

6. a person manipulated by another for the latter's own ends; cat's-paw.

7. the design or ornament impressed upon the cover of a book.

8. Underworld Slang.

   1. a pistol or gun.

   2. a pickpocket.

9. Slang: Vulgar. penis.

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verb (used with object)

• tools,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tooled,
  past participle,  past
• tooling
  present participle

1. to work or shape with a tool.

2. to work decoratively with a hand tool.

3. to ornament (the cover of a book) with a bookbinder's tool.

4. to drive (a vehicle).

   He tooled the car along the treacherous path.

5. to equip with tools or machinery.

verb (used without object)

• tools,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tooled,
  past participle,  past
• tooling
  present participle

1. to work with a tool.

2. to drive or ride in a vehicle.

   tooling along the freeway.

verb phrase

1. tool up to install machinery designed for performing a particular job.

   manufacturers tooling up for production.

tool British  

/ tuːl /

noun

1. 1. an implement, such as a hammer, saw, or spade, that is used by hand

   2. a power-driven instrument; machine tool

   3. ( in combination )

      a toolkit

2. the cutting part of such an instrument

3. 1. any of the instruments used by a bookbinder to impress a design on a book cover

   2. a design so impressed

4. anything used as a means of performing an operation or achieving an end

   he used his boss's absence as a tool for gaining influence

5. a person used to perform dishonourable or unpleasant tasks for another

6. a necessary medium for or adjunct to one's profession

   numbers are the tools of the mathematician's trade

7. slang another word for penis

8. an underworld slang word for gun

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verb

1. to work, cut, shape, or form (something) with a tool or tools

2. (tr) to decorate (a book cover) with a bookbinder's tool

3. to furnish with tools

4. to drive (a vehicle) or (of a vehicle) to be driven, esp in a leisurely or casual style

Usage

What are other ways to say tool? The word tool usually refers to a handheld object, such as a hammer, saw, or file, that is used to perform or facilitate mechanical operations. When should you use this noun over instrument, implement, or utensil? Learn more on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• multitool
  noun
• tooler
  noun
• tool-less
  adjective
• toolless
  adjective
• untooled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tools
  plural

Participles

• tooling
  present
• tooled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tool
  simple
• tools
  simple
• have tooled
  perfect
• has tooled
  perfect
• am tooling
  progressive
• are tooling
  progressive
• is tooling
  progressive
• have been tooling
  perfect progressive
• has been tooling
  perfect progressive

Past

• tooled
  simple
• had tooled
  perfect
• was tooling
  progressive
• were tooling
  progressive
• had been tooling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tool
  simple
• will have tooled
  perfect
• will be tooling
  progressive
• will have been tooling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of tool

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English tōl; cognate with Old Norse tōl “tools”; akin to taw ²

Explanation

A tool is an instrument that you use to help you accomplish some task. If you are going to build a bookcase, you'll need the proper tools, like a saw, a drill, and a tape measure. A tool is also something that you use to perform the duties of a certain profession. The tools of a kindergarten teacher's trade include construction paper, glue sticks, and safety scissors. As a verb, tool can mean to drive aimlessly just for fun, the way you might tool around town in your convertible on a beautiful summer day.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tool tools tooled tooling

Ms. Southon rightly appreciates that manumission was a tool of slave-owners’ power, but she excessively minimizes how common it was.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Traditionally, members of the Homo genus have been identified using traits such as large brains, advanced tool use, and certain anatomical and behavioral characteristics.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

You can see how results were in your local area using the look-up tool below.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“We have a big tool kit, so we’ll see,” Bessent responded.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

And then he stuffed the little electronic device into the robot’s tool belt.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Other discoveries include glass beads, stone tools, nails, and animal bones from meals that included turtle, freshwater fish, and turkey.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

The advertising campaign for its new smart-access products around Amazon’s Prime Day in June was 10 times cheaper than a year earlier, in part because of AI tools, Zemmel said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Likewise, Richet has plenty of his own tools: a $40 million budget, competent craftspeople, a hero capable of charisma and wit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Markets are wondering what tools Bessent might use to keep rates lower, and if he wants the Fed to step in.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

I remembered that it was in the shed next to Tomi’s stable that Uncle Manfred kept all his tools, all the harnesses, chains, ropes, everything.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Even if Congress voted the funds tomorrow for 10,000 new interceptors, the metal and the gas would still have to be found, the workforce trained, and the production lines tooled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

As the smoke piled in, Lake Arrowhead resident Doug Roath tooled around town on his bicycle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024

Ukraine's factories have tooled up to make equipment to help keep the sappers safer.

From Reuters ● Aug. 3, 2023

Rowe started back up in July 2020 with a four-episode run of “Dirty Jobs: Rowe’d Trip,” in which he tooled around the country in an RV, and the main show returned in January 2022.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2022

They are more like perfectly tooled but crazy little machines, and we violate science when we try to read human meanings in their arrangements.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

“Source Foundry tackles the tightest bottleneck: tooling for semiconductor manufacturing, starting in lithography.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"Autonomous, AI-driven offensive tooling is no longer theoretical," it said.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Yet the only reason he’s out here racking up steps by the hundreds on a recent morning is because he was tooling around in his sculpture studio before I arrived.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

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 lights of the cars tooling up the ramp blinded us as we shuffled backwards through the snow that had started falling, like, two minutes after we’d left Delaney’s in our lightweight concert garb.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Related Words

• apparatus
• appliance
• device
• engine
• gadget
• gizmo
• machine
• means
• mechanism
• utensil
• weapon