1. A device, such as a saw, used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical work. 2a. A machine, such as a lathe, used to cut and shape machine parts or other objects. b. The cutting part of such a machine. 3. Something regarded as necessary to the carrying out of one's occupation or profession: Words are the tools of our trade.4. Something used in the performance of an operation; an instrument: “Modern democracies have the fiscal and monetary tools . . . to end chronic slumps and galloping inflations” (Paul A. Samuelson). 5.Vulgar Slang A penis. 6. A person used to carry out the designs of another; a dupe. 7a. A bookbinder's hand stamp. b. A design impressed on a book cover by such a stamp. 8.Computer Science An application program, often one that creates, manipulates, modifies, or analyzes other programs.
VERB:
Inflected forms: tooled, tool·ing, tools
TRANSITIVE VERB:
1. To form, work, or decorate with a tool. 2. To ornament (a book cover) with a bookbinder's tool. 3.Slang To drive (a vehicle): tooled the car at 80 miles an hour.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:
1. To work with a tool. 2.Slang To drive or ride in a vehicle: tooled up and down the roads.
PHRASAL VERB:
tool up To provide an industry or a factory with machinery and tools suitable for a particular job.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English tl, possibly from Old Norse.
SYNONYMS:
tool, instrument, implement, utensil, appliance These nouns refer to devices used in the performance of work. Tool applies broadly to a device that facilitates work; specifically it denotes a small manually operated device: a box full of tools for bike repair.Instrument refers especially to a relatively small precision tool used by trained professionals: sterilized the scalpel and the other instruments.Implement is the preferred term for tools used in agriculture and certain building trades: rakes, hoes, and other implements.Utensil often refers to an implement used in a household, especially in the kitchen: cooking utensils hung by the stove.Appliance most frequently denotes a power-driven device that performs a specific function: a store selling toasters and other appliances.
t
l
l, possibly from Old Norse.
