TOOL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tool mean? 

• TOOL (noun)
  The noun TOOL has 4 senses:

1. an implement used in the practice of a vocation

2. the means whereby some act is accomplished

3. a person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else

4. obscene terms for penis

  Familiarity information: TOOL used as a noun is uncommon.

• TOOL (verb)
  The verb TOOL has 4 senses:

1. drive

2. ride in a car with no particular goal and just for the pleasure of it

3. furnish with tools

4. work with a tool

  Familiarity information: TOOL used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TOOL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An implement used in the practice of a vocation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

implement (instrumentation (a piece of equipment or tool) used to effect an end)

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

neolith (a stone tool from the Neolithic Age)

swage; upset (a tool used to thicken or spread metal (the end of a bar or a rivet etc.) by forging or hammering or swaging)

tap (a tool for cutting female (internal) screw threads)

tamp; tamper; tamping bar (a tool for tamping (e.g., for tamping tobacco into a pipe bowl or a charge into a drill hole etc.))

style; stylus (a pointed tool for writing or drawing or engraving)

strickle (a tool used in a foundry to shape a mold in sand)

shaping tool (a tool for shaping metal)

saw set (a tool used to bend each alternate sawtooth at a slight angle outward)

rounder (a tool for rounding corners or edges)

ram (a tool for driving or forcing something by impact)

rake (a long-handled tool with a row of teeth at its head; used to move leaves or loosen soil)

punch; puncher (a tool for making holes or indentations)

power tool (a tool driven by a motor)

plough; plow (a farm tool having one or more heavy blades to break the soil and cut a furrow prior to sowing)

muller; pestle; pounder (a heavy tool of stone or iron (usually with a flat base and a handle) that is used to grind and mix material (as grain or drugs or pigments) against a slab of stone)

paleolith (a stone tool from the Paleolithic age)

abradant; abrader (a tool or machine used for wearing down or smoothing or polishing)

Jaws of Life (hydraulic tool inserted into a wrecked vehicle and used to pry the wreckage apart in order to provide access to people trapped inside)

jack (tool for exerting pressure or lifting)

hoe (a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle)

hand tool (a tool used with workers' hands)

hack (a tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for breaking up the surface of the soil)

grapnel; grapple; grappler; grappling hook; grappling iron (a tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding; often thrown with a rope)

garden tool; lawn tool (used for working in gardens or yards)

gang (tool consisting of a combination of implements arranged to work together)

fork (an agricultural tool used for lifting or digging; has a handle and metal prongs)

eolith (a crude stone artifact (as a chipped flint); possibly the earliest tools)

drill (a tool with a sharp point and cutting edges for making holes in hard materials (usually rotating rapidly or by repeated blows))

cutting implement (a tool used for cutting or slicing)

comb (any of several tools for straightening fibers)

clincher (a tool used to clinch nails or bolts or rivets)

bender (a tool for bending)

Derivation:

tool (work with a tool)

tool (furnish with tools)

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 ("tool" is a kind of...):

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

creature; puppet; tool

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

slave (a person who is owned by someone)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Obscene terms for penis

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

cock; dick; pecker; prick; putz; shaft; tool

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

member; penis; phallus (the male sex organ ('member' is a euphemism))

Domain usage:

dirty word; filth; obscenity; smut; vulgarism (an offensive or indecent word or phrase)

• TOOL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they tool    ... he / she / it tools   
Past simple: tooled   
Past participle: tooled   
-ing form: tooling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Drive

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The convertible tooled down the street

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

drive (operate or control a vehicle)

Verb group:

joyride; tool; tool around (ride in a car with no particular goal and just for the pleasure of it)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Ride in a car with no particular goal and just for the pleasure of it

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

joyride; tool; tool around

Context example:

We tooled down the street

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

ride (be carried or travel on or in a vehicle)

Verb group:

tool (drive)

Domain category:

driving (the act of controlling and steering the movement of a vehicle or animal)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Furnish with tools

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

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

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

tool (an implement used in the practice of a vocation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Work with a tool

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

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

process; work; work on (shape, form, or improve a material)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

tool (an implement used in the practice of a vocation)

 Context examples 

The methods and tools used for DNA analysis and manipulation.

(Molecular Genetic Technique, NCI Thesaurus)

A tool for moving individual molecules or nanoscale objects, such as an atomic force microscope.

(Nanomanipulator, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A nasoscope has a light and a lens for viewing and may have a tool to remove tissue.

(Nasoscope, NCI Dictionary)

Come again next night with a more useful tool.

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

Screening for chromosomal breakage and rearrangement is used as a diagnostic tool in Fanconi anemia.

(Chromosomal Instability, NCI Thesaurus)

These cells are valuable in vitro tools for studies related to intestinal cell function and differentiation.

(Caco-2 Cell, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

This difference is important because it suggests that we may need to develop tools for predicting breast cancer risk that are specific to young women.

(Breast cancer protection from pregnancy starts decades later, National Institutes of Health)

Knowing the atomic structure of this configuration now gives researchers the tools to design such a vaccine.

(The Structure and Dynamics of HIV Surface Spikes, NIH)

A tool for the assessment of pain in both clinical and research settings.

(Brief Pain Inventory, NCI Thesaurus)

It may also have a tool to remove tissue to be checked under a microscope for signs of disease.

(Bronchoscopy, NCI Dictionary)