INSTRUMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does instrument mean? 

• INSTRUMENT (noun)
  The noun INSTRUMENT has 6 senses:

1. a device that requires skill for proper use

2. the means whereby some act is accomplished

3. a person used by another to gain an end

4. (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right

5. the semantic role of the entity (usually inanimate) that the agent uses to perform an action or start a process

6. any of various devices or contrivances that can be used to produce musical tones or sounds

  Familiarity information: INSTRUMENT used as a noun is common.

• INSTRUMENT (verb)
  The verb INSTRUMENT has 3 senses:

1. equip with instruments for measuring, recording, or controlling

2. write an instrumental score for

3. address a legal document to

  Familiarity information: INSTRUMENT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSTRUMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A device that requires skill for proper use

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("instrument" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "instrument"):

cauterant; cautery (an instrument or substance used to destroy tissue for medical reasons (eg removal of a wart) by burning it with a hot iron or an electric current or a caustic or by freezing it)

analyser; analyzer (an instrument that performs analyses)

whip (an instrument with a handle and a flexible lash that is used for whipping)

arm; weapon; weapon system (any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting)

tracer (an instrument used to make tracings)

surveying instrument; surveyor's instrument (an instrument used by surveyors)

sonograph (an instrument that uses the differential transmission and reflection of ultrasonic waves in order to provide an image of a bodily organ)

scientific instrument (an instrument used by scientists)

plotter (an instrument (usually driven by a computer) for drawing graphs or pictures)

optical instrument (an instrument designed to aid vision)

navigational instrument (an instrument used for navigating)

medical instrument (instrument used in the practice of medicine)

measuring device; measuring instrument; measuring system (instrument that shows the extent or amount or quantity or degree of something)

instrument of punishment (an instrument designed and used to punish a condemned person)

instrument of execution (an instrument designed and used to take the life of a condemned person)

harmonium; organ; reed organ (a free-reeded instrument with a piano keyboard in which air is forced through the reeds by bellows)

extractor (an instrument for extracting tight-fitting components)

engine (an instrument or machine that is used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult, artillery piece, etc.)

drafting instrument (an instrument used by a draftsman in making drawings)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The means whereby some act is accomplished

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

instrument; tool

Context example:

science has given us new tools to fight disease

Hypernyms ("instrument" is a kind of...):

agency; means; way (thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end)

Derivation:

instrument (equip with instruments for measuring, recording, or controlling)

instrumental (serving or acting as a means or aid)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person used by another to gain an end

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

cat's-paw; instrument; pawn

Hypernyms ("instrument" is a kind of...):

assistant; help; helper; supporter (a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

instrument; legal document; legal instrument; official document

Hypernyms ("instrument" is a kind of...):

document; papers; written document (writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature))

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "instrument"):

authorisation; authorization; mandate (a document giving an official instruction or command)

deed; deed of conveyance; title (a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it)

assignment (the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another)

deed of trust; trust deed (a written instrument legally conveying property to a trustee often used to secure an obligation such as a mortgage or promissory note)

conveyance (document effecting a property transfer)

income tax return; return; tax return (document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability)

licence; license; permit (a legal document giving official permission to do something)

letters patent; patent (an official document granting a right or privilege)

judgement; judgment; legal opinion; opinion (the legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision)

acquittance; release (a legal document evidencing the discharge of a debt or obligation)

judicial writ; writ ((law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer)

affidavit (written declaration made under oath; a written statement sworn to be true before someone legally authorized to administer an oath)

written agreement (a legal document summarizing the agreement between parties)

bill of indictment; indictment (a formal document written for a prosecuting attorney charging a person with some offense)

impeachment (a formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office)

arraignment (a legal document calling someone to court to answer an indictment)

certificate; security (a formal declaration that documents a fact of relevance to finance and investment; the holder has a right to receive interest or dividends)

letters of administration (legal document naming someone to administer an estate when no executor has been named)

articles of incorporation (a legal document that creates a corporation; it is filed with a state by the founders of a corporation and is governed by the laws of the state)

derivative; derivative instrument (a financial instrument whose value is based on another security)

negotiable instrument (an unconditional order or promise to pay an amount of money)

passport (a document issued by a country to a citizen allowing that person to travel abroad and re-enter the home country)

ship's papers (official papers which a ship is legally required to have; related to ownership, cargo, etc.)

manifest (a customs document listing the contents put on a ship or plane)

debenture (a certificate or voucher acknowledging a debt)

power of attorney (a legal instrument authorizing someone to act as the grantor's agent)

living will (a document written by someone still legally capable requesting that he should be allowed to die if subsequently severely disabled or suffering terminal illness)

letters testamentary (a legal document from a probate court or court officer informing you of your appointment as executor of a will and empowering you to discharge those responsibilities)

work papers; work permit; working papers (a legal document giving information required for employment of certain people in certain countries)

act; enactment (a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body)

law (legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity)

bill; measure (a statute in draft before it becomes law)

brief; legal brief (a document stating the facts and points of law of a client's case)

testament; will (a legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die)

Derivation:

instrument (address a legal document to)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The semantic role of the entity (usually inanimate) that the agent uses to perform an action or start a process

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

instrument; instrumental role

Hypernyms ("instrument" is a kind of...):

participant role; semantic role ((linguistics) the underlying relation that a constituent has with the main verb in a clause)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Any of various devices or contrivances that can be used to produce musical tones or sounds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

instrument; musical instrument

Hypernyms ("instrument" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "instrument"):

electronic instrument; electronic musical instrument (a musical instrument that generates sounds electronically)

wind; wind instrument (a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by bellows or the human breath)

stringed instrument (a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sound)

percussion instrument; percussive instrument (a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by one object striking another)

music box; musical box (produces music by means of pins on a revolving cylinder that strike the tuned teeth of a comb-like metal plate)

keyboard instrument (a musical instrument that is played by means of a keyboard)

calliope; steam organ (a musical instrument consisting of a series of steam whistles played from a keyboard)

bass (the member with the lowest range of a family of musical instruments)

hurdy-gurdy; hurdy gurdy; wheel fiddle (a stringed instrument that produces sounds by means of a wheel that rubs against the strings)

barrel organ; grind organ; hand organ (a musical instrument that makes music by rotation of a cylinder studded with pegs)

jew's harp; jews' harp; mouth bow (a small lyre-shaped musical instrument that is placed between the teeth and played by twanging a wire tongue while changing the shape of the mouth cavity)

Derivation:

instrument (write an instrumental score for)

instrumental (relating to or designed for or performed on musical instruments)

instrumentalist (someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession))

instrumentate (write an instrumental score for)

• INSTRUMENT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they instrument    ... he / she / it instruments   
Past simple: instrumented   
Past participle: instrumented   
-ing form: instrumenting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Equip with instruments for measuring, recording, or controlling

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "instrument" is one way to...):

equip; fit; fit out; outfit (provide with (something) usually for a specific purpose)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

instrument (the means whereby some act is accomplished)

instrumentation (the act of providing or using the instruments needed for some implementation)

instrumentation (an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Write an instrumental score for

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

instrument; instrumentate

Hypernyms (to "instrument" is one way to...):

compose; write (write music)

Domain category:

euphony; music (any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

instrument (any of various devices or contrivances that can be used to produce musical tones or sounds)

instrumentation (the act of arranging a piece of music for an orchestra and assigning parts to the different musical instruments)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Address a legal document to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "instrument" is one way to...):

address; direct (put an address on (an envelope))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

instrument ((law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right)

 Context examples 

An instrument used to measure an event involving emission, absorption, or refraction of light.

(Optical Instrument, NCI Thesaurus)

God, who does the work, ordains the instrument.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A fancy came into my head, that I would entertain the king and queen with an English tune upon this instrument.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

A lighted instrument used to examine the inside of the eye, including the retina and the optic nerve.

(Ophthalmoscope, NCI Dictionary)

In medicine, it describes a procedure that does not require inserting an instrument through the skin or into a body opening.

(Noninvasive, NCI Dictionary)

“This has been done,” said I, examining the wound, “by a very heavy and sharp instrument.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Though global dust storms cloak the planet's surface, MRO can use its heat-sensing Mars Climate Sounder instrument to peer through the haze.

(Global Storms on Mars Launch Dust Towers Into the Sky, NASA)

This instrument consists of 3 sections pertaining to the severity of the patient's illness, their level of improvement and a comparison of the therapeutic effect versus the side effects.

(Clinical Global Impression Questionnaire, NCI Thesaurus)

It is not upon this occasion the instrument of evil, but it will rather prove to be the key which will unlock our mystery.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When I was otherwise quite restored to health, the sight of a chemical instrument would renew all the agony of my nervous symptoms.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)