tool

[ tool ]

/ tul /

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.

Nearby words

Origin of tool

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

SYNONYMS FOR tool

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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tool ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
“The spoon was a tool for foreshadowing,” the Facebook page explains.
‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Demand: Bring Back Beth!|Melissa Leon|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
“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|DAILY BEAST

And it was a radical part of your tool set, throwing it into a ballad, which was also a canonized jazz standard.
Herbie Hancock Holds Forth|David Yaffe|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You must either made a tool of the creature, or a man of him.
The Stones of Venice, Volume II (of 3), |John Ruskin
Intellect would be useless to a creature which could neither make nor use a tool.
Creatures of the Abyss|Murray Leinster
The tool is not so likely to slip off and run in as when working with the grain.
Handwork in Wood|William Noyes
Just then one of the millers put down his tool and listened.
English Fairy Tales|Flora Annie Steel
The shape of tool t for boring is quite different from one used for outside turning, as shown by Fig. 36.
Turning and Boring|Franklin D. Jones

British Dictionary definitions for tool

tool

/ (tuːl) /

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

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.

tool

"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.

tool

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Verb Phrases

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Nearby words

Origin of tool

Examples from the Web for tool

tool

noun

verb

Word Origin for tool

tool

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