Dictionary Definition
instrument
Noun
1 a device that requires skill for proper
use
2 the means whereby some act is accomplished; "my
greed was the instrument of my destruction"; "science has given us
new tools to fight disease" [syn: tool]
4 (law) a document that states some contractual
relationship or grants some right [syn: legal
document, legal
instrument, official
document]
5 the semantic role of the entity (usually
inanimate) that the agent uses to perform an action or start a
process [syn: instrumental
role]
6 any of various devices or contrivances that can
be used to produce musical tones or sounds [syn: musical
instrument]
Verb
1 equip with instruments for measuring,
recording, or controlling
2 write an instrumental score for [syn: instrumentate]
3 address a legal document to
User Contributed Dictionary
see Instrument
English
Etymology
From instrumentumPronunciation
- /ˈɪnstrʌmənt/, /"InstrVm@nt/
Noun
- A device used to
produce music.
- The violinist was a master of her instrument.
- A measuring or
displaying device.
- The instrument detected an increase in radioactivity.
- A tool, implement.
- The dentist set down his tray of instruments.
- A legal document, such as a contract, deed, trust, mortgage, power, indenture, or will.
- A bond indenture is the instrument that gives a bond its value.
- Negotiable instruments are the foundation of the debt markets.
- A bond indenture is the instrument that gives a bond its value.
- A person used as a mere tool for achieving a goal.
Related terms
Translations
music device
- Chinese: 乐器
- Czech: nástroj
- Dutch: instrument , muziekinstrument
- Finnish: soitin, instrumentti
- French: instrument
- German: Instrument, Musikinstrument
- Greek: όργανο (órgano)
- Italian: strumento
- Japanese: 楽器 (gakki)
- Korean: sc=Hang ()
- Latin: organum
- Malayalam: സംഗീത ഉപകരണം (samgeetha upakaraNam)
- Norwegian: instrument
- Portuguese: instrumento
- Russian: инструмент (instrum'ént)
- Slovene: instrument , inštrument
- Spanish: instrumento
- Swedish: intrument
measuring device
- Czech: přístroj
- Dutch: instrument , meetinstrument , meter
- Finnish: mittari, mittalaite
- German: Instrument, Meßinstrument
- Greek: όργανο (órgano)
- Italian: strumento
- Japanese: 計器 (keiki)
- Korean: sc=Hang ()
- Norwegian: måleapparat
- Portuguese: instrumento . aparelho
- Russian: прибор (pribór)
- Swedish: mätinstrument
tool
- Bosnian: alat (collective)
- Dutch: instrument
- Finnish: väline
- German: Werkzeug, Instrument
- Greek: εργαλείο (ergalío)
- Italian: strumento
- Japanese: (kigu), (kikai)
- Korean: sc=Hang (), sc=Hang (), sc=Hang ()
- Latin: instrūmentum
- Norwegian: redskap
- Portuguese: instrumento
- Russian: инструмент (instrum'ént)
- Serbian: sc=Cyrl, alat (collective)
- Slovene: orodje
- Spanish: instrumento, herramienta
- Swedish: intrument (especially a fine tool)
legal document
- German: Dokument, Urkunde
- Korean: sc=Hang ()
- Spanish: instrumento
person used as a mere tool
- German: Handlanger
- Korean: sc=Hang
- Spanish: instrumento
Verb
- To apply measuring devices.
- To devise, conceive, cook-up, plan.
See also
Extensive Definition
An Instrument is a tool, intended for a purpose
other than mechanical
work, in particular a refined one.
- Musical instruments are devices designed to produce music, frequently by plucking or striking a string or bell or drum surface, or by forcing air to resonate (see wind instrument).
- Scientific instruments are devices intended to assist in the
conduct of science. An example would be the test tubes and other
glassware one might find in a chemistry or biology laboratory.
Scientific instruments are not limited to laboratory
equipment; an example is the Hubble
telescope. Specific categories of scientific instruments
include
- Measuring instruments are devices used to measure or compare the magnitude of physical properties, such as voltmeters, speedometers, timers and clocks, weighing machines,etc.
- Analytical instruments are devices used to measure multiple or complex material properties, such as mass spectrometers.
- Astronomical instruments are use to observe, record and measure the position of heavenly bodies, such as stars, planets, comets etc.
- Flight instruments are devices used to maintain attitude of aircraft in IMC.
- Medical instruments are devices for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, such as stethoscopes.
- Instruments of torture is a term for the means whereby some act of torture is accomplished.
- Legal instruments are documents used to formally document various types of transactions or confirm certain statuses for specific purposes, such as confirming contractual relations, civil status, etc. Examples include wills, writs, court order, contracts, treaties, marriage licenses and driver's licenses.
- Financial instruments are documents used to formally document various types of financial transactions. Examples include loan agreements, bonds, mortgages, stocks and floating charges.
- Negotiable instruments are a class of documents evidencing promises or orders to pay a certain sum of money.
- In statistics, an instrument is an instrumental variable.
- A statutory instrument refers to a regulation or other secondary legislation passed pursuant to authority given by primary legislation.
- Vehicle instrument (i.e. speedometer, fuel gauge...), analogical or, nowadays, digital.
- Instrument - a documentary film about the band Fugazi.
- INSTRUMENTS is a band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
- Instruments is a performance visualizer built in to Mac OS X v10.5.
- weather instruments.
See also
instrument in Asturian: Instrumentu
instrument in Czech: Instrument
instrument in Danish: Instrument
instrument in German: Instrument
instrument in Spanish: Instrumento
instrument in French: Instrument
instrument in Galician: Instrumento
instrument in Croatian: Instrument
instrument in Indonesian: Instrumentasi
instrument in Dutch: Instrument
instrument in Norwegian: Instrument
instrument in Norwegian Nynorsk:
Instrument
instrument in Polish: Instrument
instrument in Portuguese: Instrumento
instrument in Romanian: Instrument
instrument in Simple English: Instrument
instrument in Finnish: Instrumentti
instrument in Swedish: Instrument
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Bourdon tube, Charlie McCarthy, Danish balance,
Federal, Gramophone, Gyropilot, Mach meter, Roman
balance, Teletype,
Weightometer, X-ray
machine, absolute altimeter, accelerometer, adapt, aerial reconnaissance
camera, aerometer,
aeroscope, agency, agent, air log, alloy balance,
altigraph, altimeter, amanuensis, ammeter, analytical balance,
ancilla, anemograph, anemometer, anemoscope, aneroid, antler, apparatus, apple-polisher,
appliance, arrange, aspirator, ass-licker, assay
balance, autograph,
automatic pilot, autosyn, awl, backslapper, baggage agent,
balance, balance of
precision, barb, barbed
wire, barblet, barbule, barbwire, barometer, barrel scale,
beam, bedpan, blank, bodkin, bombing locator, bombsight, bootlick, bootlicker, bradawl, brown-nose, brownie, bullion balance,
business agent, calorimeter, caltrop, card compass, carpet
tack, cash register, catalyst, catheter, channel, cheval-de-frise,
chirograph, chromatoscope, chronograph, chronometer, chuck, claim agent, clamp, clasp, clawback, clerk, clinch, clinical thermometer,
clip, cockspur, commercial agent,
commission agent, compact, compass, compose, consignee, contract, contraption, contrivance, control rod,
counter scale, courtier, cramp, creature, cringer, customer agent,
cylinder scale, device,
diathermy machine, dibble, direction finder,
docket, document, dog, dossier, drain, drum scale, dummy, dupe, electrocardiograph,
electroencephalograph,
electrograph,
equipment, evaporimeter, facsimile
telegraph, factor, fan
scale, fawner, fed, federal agent, fid, file, fishhook, flatterer, flexure plate
scale, flight recorder, flunky, footlicker, forceps, fork, form, freight agent, functionary, gadget, gaff, galvanometer, gauge, gauger, gear, general agent, gimcrack, gimlet, gimmick, gizmo, go-between, goad, goniometer, gosport, gosport tube, grab, grapnel, grapple, grappler, grappling iron,
grip, groveler, gyrocompass, hand tool,
handmaid, handmaiden, handshaker, harmonize, harpoon, hat pin, heat lamp,
helot, hemostat, holdfast, holograph, hook, horn, hub dynamometer, hygrograph, hygrometer, hypo, hypodermic, hypodermic
needle, hypsometer,
icepick, implement, inclinometer, induction
compass, instrumentality,
instrumentate,
instrumentation,
insurance agent, interagent, intermediary, intermediate, intermedium, jackal, jaws, joy stick, kaleidoscope, kowtower, kymograph, lackey, lance, lancet, land agent, laser, law agent, led captain,
legal document, legal instrument, legal paper, lever, lever scales, lickspit, lickspittle, literary agent,
loan agent, long-arm balance, machine, machinery, magnetic compass,
make an adaptation, manometer, marlinespike, mealymouth, mean, means, measure, measurer, mechanical device,
mechanical heart, mechanism, mechanize, mediator, medium, melodize, meteorograph, meter, microfilm reader, micrometer, microscope, midwife, mill, minion, ministry, motorize, musicalize, nail, needle, news agent, nippers, octant, official, official document,
optical altimeter, orchestrate, organ, oscillograph, otoscope, oxgoad, ozonometer, pact, pair of scales, paper, paper clip, papers, paraphernalia, parchment, pari-mutuel,
pari-mutuel machine, parliamentary agent, passenger agent, pawn, peon, personal file, photometer, pike, pin, pincers, pitchfork, pitot-static tube,
plate fulcrum scale, platform scale, plaything, pliers, pluviograph, pluviometer, pneumatograph, pneumatometer, potentiometer, power tool,
precision balance, precision scale, precision tool, press agent,
prime mover, prism,
probe, prong, punch, puppet, purchasing agent, pus
basin, put to music, pyrometer, quadrant, quill, radar, radio, radio compass, radio
direction finder, radiogoniometer, range
finder, rate-of-climb indicator, real estate agent, recording
barometer, recording hygrometer, register, retool, robot pilot, roll, rowel, sales agent, scale, scales, scalpel, score, scrip, script, scroll, secretary, seismograph, seismoscope, serf, servant, set, set to music, sextant, sharpen, short-arm balance,
skewer, slave, sound, sound recorder, spaniel, spearhead, special agent,
spectrograph,
spectrohelioscope,
spectroscope,
speculum, speed tool,
spicule, spiculum, spike, spine, spiral balance, spirit
level, spirometer,
spit, splint, spur, staple, static tube, station
agent, stereopticon, stethoscope, steward, sting, stooge, strike radar scanner,
suck, sun compass, suture, swab, sycophant, syringe, tachometer, tack, tackle, tang, tape recorder, teletypewriter, telltale, theatrical agent,
thermograph,
thermometer,
thermometrograph,
thermostat, thingumabob, thingumajig, thingummy, throttle, thumbtack, ticker, ticket agent, timeserver, tine, toad, toady, tongs, tool, toy, transcribe, transit
instrument, transpose,
travel agent, trepan,
trephine, truckler, tufthunter, turnstile, tweezers, utensil, variometer, vehicle, venturi tube, viewer, viscosimeter, vise, voting machine, walking
delegate, way, weigh scales,
weighbridge,
weighing machine, weight voltameter, whatnot, wherewithal, wrench, writ, write, writing, yes-man, yoke