Instrument
['ɪnstrʊm(ə)nt] or ['ɪnstrəmənt]
Definition
(noun.) the means whereby some act is accomplished; 'my greed was the instrument of my destruction'; 'science has given us new tools to fight disease'.
(noun.) a device that requires skill for proper use.
(noun.) a person used by another to gain an end.
(verb.) address a legal document to.
(verb.) write an instrumental score for.
(verb.) equip with instruments for measuring, recording, or controlling.
Checker: Mollie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) That by means of which any work is performed, or result is effected; a tool; a utensil; an implement; as, the instruments of a mechanic; astronomical instruments.
(n.) A contrivance or implement, by which musical sounds are produced; as, a musical instrument.
(n.) A writing, as the means of giving formal expression to some act; a writing expressive of some act, contract, process, as a deed, contract, writ, etc.
(n.) One who, or that which, is made a means, or is caused to serve a purpose; a medium, means, or agent.
(v. t.) To perform upon an instrument; to prepare for an instrument; as, a sonata instrumented for orchestra.
Checked by Blanchard
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Tool, implement, utensil.[2]. Medium, agent, means.[3]. Writing, document, charter, deed, indenture.
Inputed by Leonard
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Implement, utensil, tool, document, deed, record, medium, muniment, means,channel, machine, agent
ANT:Misapplication, counteraction, counteragent, neutralizer, opponent, bar,obstruction, preventive, stop
Editor: Roxanne
Definition
n. a tool or utensil: a machine producing musical sounds: a writing containing a contract: one who or that which is made a means.—adj. Instrument′al acting as an instrument or means: serving to promote an object: helpful: belonging to or produced by musical instruments: (gram.) serving to indicate the instrument or means—of a case in Sanskrit involving the notion of by or with.—ns. Instrument′alist one who plays on a musical instrument; Instrumental′ity agency.—adv. Instrument′ally.—n. Instrumentā′tion (mus.) the arrangement of a composition for performance by different instruments: the playing upon musical instruments.
Inputed by Kirsten
Examples
- The instrument may be made before the laws which govern its operation are discovered. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- But the key was an instrument of such gigantic proportions, that before they started Riah proposed to carry it. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- This interior cylinder readily revolves on an axis, _g_, _g_, shown in the section of the instrument as seen edgewise. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Coals may be considered both as a material of manufacture, and as an instrument of trade. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The outer case of the instrument, which is a flat cylinder made of sheet iron, is indicated by the letters _c_, _c_. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The improved instrument produces untempered tones without requiring extraordinary variations from the usual arrangement of the keys. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Mr. Lake developed an instrument suited to this purpose and one which gave a simultaneous view of the entire horizon. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- We left her, on a low chair, at one side of the instrument, so absorbed over her reading that she did not seem to notice when we moved. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- By this means the instrument suits all eyes, without requiring adjustment, and the field of view is increased. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The clocks at the corresponding stations were set exactly together, so that the same letter was exposed to view at each instrument at the same instant. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The clepsydra became in Greece a useful instrument to enforce the law in restricting loquacious orators and lawyers to reasonable limits in their addresses. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The receiving instrument at the other end of the line was constructed upon much the same general lines as the transmitter, consisting of a metallic drum and reels for the paper tape. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Wells' little essay: Skepticism of the Instrument. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The instrument with which the injury had been inflicted lay upon the carpet beside him. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- If Machiavelli is a symbol of the political theorist making reason an instrument of purpose, we may take Sorel as a self-conscious representative of the impulses which generate purpose. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Of the numerous other telegraph instruments that have been invented since 1837, that of Mr. Morse is in most general use, especially on the Continent and in America. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- They have a kind of hard flints, which, by grinding against other stones, they form into instruments, that serve instead of wedges, axes, and hammers. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- I can only suppose now, that it was a part of his policy, as a very clever man, habitually to deceive his own instruments. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- The instruments show a rapidly decreasing air pressure on all parts of Barsoom--the engine has stopped. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- The spoons, forks, and other instruments, were all in the same proportion. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- Thirdly, and lastly, the machines and instruments of trade, etc. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- He took a neat little leather case out of a drawer, and opening it he exhibited a number of shining instruments. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Guitar and mandolin are agreeable instruments for amateurs, but are never used in orchestral music. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Musical instruments maybe divided into three groups according to the different ways in which their tones are produced:-- _First. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Voltmeters (Fig. 236), or instruments for measuring voltage, are like ammeters except that a wire of very high resistance is in circuit with the movable coil. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- He has occasion for no machines or instruments of trade, unless his shop or warehouse be considered as such. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- To make the manufacture of instruments an ideal is to lose much of their ideal value. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- At other times, free balloons are liberated, carrying sets of automatic registering instruments. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The Greeks derived their musical instruments from the Egyptians, and the Romans borrowed theirs from the Greeks, but neither the Greeks nor the Romans invented any. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- If we are discouraged it is because we tend to identify statecraft with that official government which is merely one of its instruments. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Edited by Arnold