tooling

[too-ling]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tooling ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

work done with a tool or tools; tooled ornamentation, as on wood, stone, or leather.

Machinery.

a number of tools, as in a particular factory.
the planning and arrangement of tools for a particular manufacturing process.

Origin of tooling

First recorded in 1665–75; tool + -ing¹

tool

[tool]

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 tooling

manufacture, construction, skin, color, wreath, ornament, trinket, finery, design, ribbon, plaque, slow, slacken, wane, trail, decrease, falter, diminish, fail, drift

Examples from the Web for tooling

Contemporary Examples of tooling

He keeps the papal Mercedes parked in the Vatican garage and insists on tooling around Rome in well-worn 1984 Renault.
Pope Francis Is Time’s Man of The Year
Barbie Latza Nadeau
December 11, 2013

Historical Examples of tooling

Modern ornamentation is confined to tooling, blind and gilt, and inlaying.
The Booklover and His Books
Harry Lyman Koopman
There is a great variation in the costs given for tooling concrete.
Concrete Construction
Halbert P. Gillette
This tooling was done by stone cutters, and was unusually high in cost.
Concrete Construction
Halbert P. Gillette
After the edges have been gilt they may be decorated by tooling, called “gauffering.”
Bookbinding, and the Care of Books
Douglas Cockerell
The tooling is done as directed in the other examples of this class of work.
The Library of Work and Play: Home Decoration
Charles Franklin Warner

British Dictionary definitions for tooling

tooling

noun

any decorative work done with a tool, esp a design stamped onto a book cover, piece of leatherwork, etc

the selection, provision, and setting up of tools, esp for a machining operation

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 tooling

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.