tool

/tul/

/tul/

Other forms: tools; tooling; tooled

A tool is an instrument that you use to help you accomplish some task. If you are going to build a bookcase, you'll need the proper tools, like a saw, a drill, and a tape measure.

A tool is also something that you use to perform the duties of a certain profession. The tools of a kindergarten teacher's trade include construction paper, glue sticks, and safety scissors. As a verb, tool can mean to drive aimlessly just for fun, the way you might tool around town in your convertible on a beautiful summer day.

Definitions of tool

1. noun

   an implement used in the practice of a vocation
   types:

   abradant, abrader

   a tool or machine used for wearing down or smoothing or polishing

   bender

   a tool for bending

   clincher

   a tool used to clinch nails or bolts or rivets

   comb

   any of several tools for straightening fibers

   cutting implement

   a tool used for cutting or slicing

   drill

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

   eolith

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

   fork

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

   gang

   tool consisting of a combination of implements arranged to work together

   garden tool, lawn tool

   used for working in gardens or yards

   grapnel, grapple, grappler, grappling hook, grappling iron

   a tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding; often thrown with a rope

   hack

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

   hand tool

   a tool used with workers' hands

   hoe

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

   jack

   tool for exerting pressure or lifting

   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

   neolith

   a stone tool from the Neolithic Age

   paleolith

   a stone tool from the Paleolithic age

   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

   plough, plow

   a farm tool having one or more heavy blades to break the soil and cut a furrow prior to sowing

   power tool

   a tool driven by a motor

   punch, puncher

   a tool for making holes or indentations

   rake

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

   ram

   a tool for driving or forcing something by impact

   rounder

   a tool for rounding corners or edges

   saw set

   a tool used to bend each alternate sawtooth at a slight angle outward

   shaping tool

   a tool for shaping metal

   strickle

   a tool used in a foundry to shape a mold in sand

   style, stylus

   a pointed tool for writing, drawing, or engraving

   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.)

   tap

   a tool for cutting female (internal) screw threads

   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

   abrading stone

   a primitive stone artifact (usually made of sandstone) used as an abrader

   auger, gimlet, screw auger, wimble

   a hand tool used to bore holes

   awl

   a pointed tool for marking surfaces or for punching small holes

   battering ram

   a ram used to break down doors of fortified buildings

   bevel, bevel square

   a tool used to draw, measure, or cut angles on or in a material

   bit

   the cutting part of a drill; usually pointed and threaded and is replaceable in a brace or bitstock or drill press

   blade

   the flat part of a tool or weapon that (usually) has a cutting edge

   bodkin, threader

   a blunt needle for threading ribbon through loops

   bodkin

   a small sharp-pointed tool for punching holes in leather or fabric

   bore bit, borer, rock drill, stone drill

   a drill for penetrating rock

   brace and bit

   a drill consisting of a bit and a brace to hold and turn it

   breast drill

   a portable drill with a plate that is pressed against the chest to force the drill point into the work

   buffer, polisher

   a power tool used to buff surfaces

   bull tongue

   a heavy plow with a single wide blade; used chiefly in cotton fields

   bumper jack

   a jack for lifting a motor vehicle by the bumper

   burr

   rotary file for smoothing rough edges left on a workpiece

   center punch

   a tool with a conical point that is used to make indentations in metal (especially to mark points for drilling)

   core drill

   a drill that removes a cylindrical core from the drill hole

   crampon, crampoon

   a hinged pair of curved iron bars; used to raise heavy objects

   crank, starter

   a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle

   croupier's rake

   a small rake used by a croupier to move chips around on the table

   cutlery, cutter, cutting tool

   a cutting implement; a tool for cutting

   burr drill, dentist's drill

   a high speed drill that dentists use to cut into teeth

   dibber, dibble

   a wooden hand tool with a pointed end; used to make holes in the ground for planting seeds or bulbs

   die

   a device used for shaping metal

   drum sander, electric sander, sander, smoother

   a power tool used for sanding wood; an endless loop of sandpaper is moved at high speed by an electric motor

   edger

   garden tool for cutting grass around the edges of a yard

   file

   a steel hand tool with small sharp teeth on some or all of its surfaces; used for smoothing wood or metal

   float, plasterer's float

   a hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco

   garden rake

   a rake used by gardeners

   graver, graving tool, pointel, pointrel

   a tool used by an engraver

   gutter

   a tool for gutting fish

   hammer

   a hand tool with a heavy rigid head and a handle; used to deliver an impulsive force by striking

   hammer, power hammer

   a power tool for drilling rocks

   hand drill, handheld drill

   a small portable drill held and operated by hand

   hand shovel

   a shovel that is operated by hand

   hatchel, heckle

   a comb for separating flax fibers

   hayfork

   a long-handled fork for turning or lifting hay

   hedge trimmer

   a garden tool for trimming hedges

   jackscrew, screw jack

   screw-operated jack

   lawn mower, mower

   garden tool for mowing grass on lawns

   marlinespike, marlingspike, marlinspike

   a pointed iron hand tool that is used to separate strands of a rope or cable (as in splicing)

   miter box, mitre box

   hand tool for guiding handsaws in making crosscuts or miter joints

   moldboard plow, mouldboard plough

   plow that has a moldboard

   opener

   a hand tool used for opening sealed containers (bottles or cans)

   pallet

   a hand tool with a flat blade used by potters for mixing and shaping clay

   paper cutter

   a cutting implement for cutting sheets of paper to the desired size

   pestle

   a club-shaped hand tool for grinding and mixing substances in a mortar

   pick

   a thin sharp implement used for removing unwanted material

   pair of pincers, pair of tweezers, pincer, tweezer

   a hand tool for holding consisting of a compound lever for grasping

   pipe cutter

   a hand tool for cutting pipe

   pitchfork

   a long-handled hand tool with sharp widely spaced prongs for lifting and pitching hay

   carpenter's plane, plane, woodworking plane

   a carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood

   plane, planer, planing machine

   a power tool for smoothing or shaping wood

   pair of pliers, pliers, plyers

   a gripping hand tool with two hinged arms and (usually) serrated jaws

   auger, plumber's snake

   a long flexible steel coil for dislodging stoppages in curved pipes

   plumber's helper, plunger

   hand tool consisting of a stick with a rubber suction cup at one end; used to clean clogged drains

   power drill

   a power tool for drilling holes into hard materials

   power saw, saw, sawing machine

   a power tool for cutting wood

   punch pliers

   punch consisting of pliers for perforating paper or leather

   rammer

   a tool for driving something with force

   ravehook

   a hooked hand tool used to prepare the seams of a boat for oakum

   reamer

   a drill that is used to shape or enlarge holes

   router

   a power tool with a shaped cutter; used in carpentry for cutting grooves

   sandblaster

   a tool that throws out a blast of steam laden with sand; used to clean or grind hard surfaces

   saw

   hand tool having a toothed blade for cutting

   scraper

   any of various hand tools for scraping

   screwdriver

   a hand tool for driving screws; has a tip that fits into the head of a screw

   Dutch hoe, scuffle, scuffle hoe

   a hoe that is used by pushing rather than pulling

   shovel

   a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle

   soldering iron

   a hand tool with a heatable tip; used to melt and apply solder

   spatula

   a hand tool with a thin flexible blade used to mix or spread soft substances

   spreader

   a hand tool for spreading something

   square

   a hand tool consisting of two straight arms at right angles; used to construct or test right angles

   stamper, stamping machine

   a power tool that stamps

   steel-wool pad

   abrader consisting of a pad of steel wool used for polishing or smoothing

   stemmer

   a miner's tamping bar for ramming packing in over a blasting charge

   straightedge

   hand tool consisting of a flat rigid rectangular bar (metal or wood) that can be used to draw straight lines (or test their straightness)

   tire iron, tire tool

   hand tool consisting of a lever that is used to force the casing of a pneumatic tire onto a steel wheel

   trepan

   a drill for cutting circular holes around a center

   trowel

   a small hand tool with a handle and flat metal blade; used for scooping or spreading plaster or similar materials

   weed-whacker, weeder

   a hand tool for removing weeds

   wire stripper

   a hand tool used by electricians to remove insulation from the cut end of an insulated wire

   spanner, wrench

   a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt

   type of:

   implement

   instrumentation (a piece of equipment or tool) used to effect an end
2. noun

   the means whereby some act is accomplished
   “science has given us new tools to fight disease”

   synonyms: instrument

   type of:

   agency, means, way

   how a result is obtained or an end is achieved
3. noun

   a person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else
   synonyms: creature, puppet

   type of:

   slave

   a person who is owned by someone
4. verb

   work with a tool
   type of:

   process, work, work on

   shape, form, or improve a material
5. verb

   furnish with tools
   type of:

   furnish, provide, render, supply

   give something useful or necessary to
6. verb

   drive
   “The convertible tooled down the street”

   synonyms:

   joyride, tool around

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

   type of:

   drive

   operate or control a vehicle
7. verb

   ride in a car with no particular goal and just for the pleasure of it
   “We tooled down the street”

   synonyms: joyride, tool around

   type of:

   ride

   be carried or travel on or in a vehicle
8. noun

   obscene term for penis