noun

instrument

IHNST-ruh-muhnt

noun

A tool, especially a precise one used for measuring, medical work, or scientific tasks.

"The surgeon laid out each instrument before the operation."

A device used to produce music.

"The violin was the first instrument she ever learned."

A person or thing used to achieve a particular purpose, often by someone else.

"He became an unwitting instrument of the scheme."

How to Use Instrument

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA tool — physical (like a scalpel or a guitar) or figurative (a means to an end).

Common pairings

musical instrument precision instrument instrument of change

instrumented past tense, instruments singular

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Can you complete this real example?

The surgeon laid out each _____ before the operation.

From Latin instrumentum, "tool, equipment," from instruere ("to build, arrange, equip") + -mentum.

argument document monument