instrumental

American  

[in-struh-men-tl] / ˌɪn strəˈmɛn tl /

adjective

1. serving or acting as an instrument or means; useful; helpful.

   Synonyms:

   effective, effectual, implemental

2. performed on or written for a musical instrument or instruments.

   instrumental music.

3. of or relating to an instrument or tool.

4. Grammar.

   1. (in certain inflected languages, as Old English and Russian) noting or pertaining to a case having as its distinctive function the indication of means or agency, as Old English beseah blīthe andweitan “looked with a happy countenance.”

   2. noting the affix or other element characteristic of this case, or a word containing such an element.

   3. similar to such a case form in function or meaning, as the Latin instrumental ablative, gladiō, “by means of a sword.”

   4. (in case grammar) pertaining to the semantic role of a noun phrase that indicates the inanimate, nonvolitional, immediate cause of the action expressed by a verb, as the rock in The rock broke the window or in I broke the window with the rock.

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noun

instrumentals plural

1. Grammar.

   1. the instrumental case.

   2. a word in the instrumental case.

   3. a construction of similar meaning.

2. a musical composition played by an instrument or a group of instruments.

instrumental British  

/ ˌɪnstrəˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. serving as a means or influence; helpful

2. of, relating to, or characterized by an instrument or instruments

3. played by or composed for musical instruments

4. grammar denoting a case of nouns, etc, in certain inflected languages, indicating the instrument used in performing an action, usually translated into English using the prepositions with or by means of

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noun

1. a piece of music composed for instruments rather than for voices

2. grammar

   1. the instrumental case

   2. a word or speech element in the instrumental case

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• instrumentality
  noun
• noninstrumental
  adjective
• uninstrumental
  adjective
• instrumentally
  adverb
• noninstrumentally
  adverb
• uninstrumentally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• instrumentals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of instrumental

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word instrūmentālis. See instrument, -al ¹

Explanation

Instrumental music involves just instruments — no singing. But you could also say that the conductor is instrumental to — or a critical part of — an orchestra's success. If you enjoy the ballet, part of it may be the instrumental music that accompanies the graceful movements. An instrumental song is one without a singer, and there can be instrumental passages of any song, where the band just plays and the singer is quiet. But this word also means something like useful. You could say that Martin Luther King, Jr. was an instrumental part of the civil rights movement because he was such an important part of it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

instrumental instrumentals

"They can be instrumental artifacts or other structures in the debris disk. By obtaining a spectrum at the same time as the image, we were able to quickly confirm our suspicions."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Zach Witkoff, the son who would later become instrumental in Trump’s presidential wealth-building, was married at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, with the Trumps in attendance.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

But the air, space and instrumental cohesion of touchstones like, say, Bonnie Raitt are nowhere to be found.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Ed Longanecker, the president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, said Paxton was instrumental in holding off the worst of the new rules.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

Appealing though this laissez-faire undoubtedly was, especially for amateur musicians, it resulted in instrumental music that did not make great demands on players, their instruments, or indeed composers.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

The instrumentals definitely serve as a unifying element.

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026

Across 17 tracks, including several instrumentals drawn from the documentary’s score, the album unfolds almost like a rock opera, building an immersive arc.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

Frontwoman Florence Shaw speaks her poetic lyrics over the band’s hypnotic instrumentals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025

Before long, he was writing his own songs – initially by dreaming up melodies and lyrics to instrumentals he'd found on YouTube, then creating originals on a guitar he'd been given for his ninth birthday.

From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2025

Hence, then, in the and why we have instrumental ablatives, or, simply, instrumentals.

From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)

Related Words

• involved