Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for tool on Thesaurus.com an implement, especially one held in the hand, as a hammer, saw, or file, for performing or facilitating mechanical operations. any instrument of manual operation. the cutting or machining part of a lathe, planer, drill, or similar machine. the machine itself; a machine tool. anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose: Education is a tool for success. a person manipulated by another for the latter's own ends; cat's-paw. the design or ornament impressed upon the cover of a book. Underworld Slang a pistol or gun. a pickpocket. Slang : Vulgar penis .Show More
to work or shape with a tool. to work decoratively with a hand tool . to ornament (the cover of a book) with a bookbinder's tool. to drive (a vehicle): He tooled the car along the treacherous path. to equip with tools or machinery. Show More
verb (used without object) to work with a tool. to drive or ride in a vehicle: tooling along the freeway. Show More
tool up , to install machinery designed for performing a particular job: manufacturers tooling up for production. Show More
Origin of tool before 900; Middle English (noun);
Old English tōl; cognate with
Old Norse tōl tools; akin to
taw2 Related forms tool·er , noun tool·less , adjective mul·ti·tool , noun un·tooled , adjective Synonyms for tool See more synonyms for 1 . T ool , implement , instrument , utensil refer to contrivances for doing work. A tool is a contrivance held in and worked by the hand, for assisting the work of (especially) mechanics or laborers: a carpenter's tools. An implement is any tool or contrivance designed or used for a particular purpose: agricultural implements. An instrument is anything used in doing a certain work or producing a certain result, especially such as requires delicacy, accuracy, or precision: surgical or musical instruments. A utensil is especially an article for domestic use: kitchen utensils. When used figuratively of human agency, tool is generally used in a contemptuous sense; instrument , in a neutral or good sense: a tool of unscrupulous men; an instrument of Providence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for tool engine ,
apparatus ,
means ,
utensil ,
weapon ,
appliance ,
mechanism ,
machine ,
device ,
gadget ,
gizmo ,
medium ,
accessory ,
contraption ,
job ,
implement ,
contrivance ,
whatchamacallit ,
go-between ,
stooge Examples from the Web for tool Contemporary Examples of tool He wasn't crazy about being fat, but he saw his body as a tool to use in the making of his career.
Tool around Capitol Hill, which brims gay bars, restaurants, and clubs.
“The spoon was a tool for foreshadowing,” the Facebook page explains.
This study uses the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which is really a tool that tracks crimes.
“The Americans were a tool , used by the Safis in the Pech to rid them of their competition in the timber trade,” Zalwar Khan said.
Historical Examples of tool God can use us as tool s, but to be a tool of, is not to be a fellow-worker with.
Perhaps you will not be as ready to admit that a tool is a book.
I have suffered him to treat me like his tool and instrument.
At this point of his reverie Pierre was roused by Thomas, who asked him to fetch a tool .
The man who does not care about his rights, depend upon it, will be made a tool of by those that do.
British Dictionary definitions for tool an implement, such as a hammer, saw, or spade, that is used by hand a power-driven instrument; machine tool (in combination ) a toolkit the cutting part of such an instrument any of the instruments used by a bookbinder to impress a design on a book cover a design so impressed 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 a person used to perform dishonourable or unpleasant tasks for another a necessary medium for or adjunct to one's profession numbers are the tools of the mathematician's trade slang another word for penis British an underworld slang word for gun Show More
to work, cut, shape, or form (something) with a tool or tools (tr) to decorate (a book cover) with a bookbinder's tool (tr often foll by up ) to furnish with tools (when intr, often foll by along ) to drive (a vehicle) or (of a vehicle) to be driven, esp in a leisurely or casual style Show More
Derived Forms tooler , noun tool-less , adjective Word Origin for tool Old English tōl; related to Old Norse tōl weapon, Old English tawian to prepare; see taw ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for tool n. Old English tol "instrument, implement," from Proto-Germanic *tolan (cf. Old Norse tol ), from a verb stem represented by Old English tawian "prepare." The ending is the instrumental suffix -l (e.g. shovel ). Figurative sense of "person used by another for his own ends" is recorded from 1660s. Slang meaning "penis" first recorded 1550s.
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v. "to drive a vehicle," 1812, probably from tool (n.). The meaning "to work or shape with a tool" is recorded from 1815; that of "equip (a factory) with machine tools" is from 1927. Related: Tooled ; tooling .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
