tool

[tool]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tool ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

to work with a tool.

to drive or ride in a vehicle: tooling along the freeway.

Verb Phrases

tool up, to install machinery designed for performing a particular job: manufacturers tooling up for production.

Origin of tool

before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English tōl; cognate with Old Norse tōl tools; akin to taw²

Related formstool·er, nountool·less, adjectivemul·ti·tool, nounun·tooled, adjective

Synonyms for tool

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tool ON THESAURUS.COM

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. 2019

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.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
Tool around Capitol Hill, which brims gay bars, restaurants, and clubs.
The Ultimate LGBT Travel Bucket List
December 12, 2014
“The spoon was a tool for foreshadowing,” the Facebook page explains.
‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Demand: Bring Back Beth!
Melissa Leon
December 11, 2014
This study uses the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which is really a tool that tracks crimes.
College Girls Are Less Likely to Be Raped Than Non-Students
Brandy Zadrozny
December 11, 2014
“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.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley
Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014

Historical Examples of tool

God can use us as tools, but to be a tool of, is not to be a fellow-worker with.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Perhaps you will not be as ready to admit that a tool is a book.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 497, July 11, 1885
Various
I have suffered him to treat me like his tool and instrument.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
At this point of his reverie Pierre was roused by Thomas, who asked him to fetch a tool.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
The man who does not care about his rights, depend upon it, will be made a tool of by those that do.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for tool

tool

noun

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 endhe 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 professionnumbers are the tools of the mathematician's trade

slang another word for penis

British an underworld slang word for gun

verb

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

Derived Formstooler, nountool-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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tool

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.

"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.