Tool

/tuːl/ · noun

Meaning

Any physical device meant to ease or do a task..

Definitions by Sense

1. Any physical device meant to ease or do a task.
2. Anything that aids someone to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.
3. (computing) A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.
4. A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group, a pawn.
5. (baseball) A particular skill pertaining to baseball (such as hitting, running, etc.).
6. (vulgar, informal) A penis, notably with a sexual or erotic connotation.
7. (by extension, vulgar, slang, derogatory) An obnoxious or uptight person.
8. (slang, Canada, US, MTE, MLE, and possibly wider) A handgun.

Example Sentences

Several prehistoric tools, including a stone ax, were found during the dig.

A screwdriver is a tool that no household should be without.

A stapler is a tool for attaching papers to others.

Idleness is a tool of the devil.

A spreadsheet app and a bookkeeping app are some of the principal tools of a bookkeeper.

What was the need of a man to do that? "One stick at a time;" if Ned could not do that, he was a poor tool. Ah, a poor tool he proved to be.

Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.[…]A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.

The software engineer had been developing lots of EDA tools.

Synonyms for tool

Antonyms for tool

Related Words

Word Forms

• tools
• tooling
• tooled

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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