How to Use instrument in a Sentence

instrument

noun
  • Do you play any instruments?
  • The piano was his favorite musical instrument.
  • The cello, for me, was still the main instrument, and just a core sound of the show.
    Amon Warmann, Variety, 25 May 2023
  • Wong and Dart took their instruments to the front desk and asked to check them.
    Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
  • Are the two of you going to pick up any instruments tonight?
    Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2024
  • This isn’t a band that’s using the studio as an instrument, like the Beach Boys.
    Pitchfork, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Most of the instrument (collection) on the top shelf is part of the museum and not for sale.
    Sam McManis, Sacramento Bee, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Some set out to learn an instrument or a new language or two.
    Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Gloria also picked up the instrument as a way to help her son.
    Kaitlin Stevens, Peoplemag, 27 Jan. 2024
  • Then add some instruments such as a toy guitar or set of drum sticks plus some hats and hip shades.
    Deborah Way, Parents, 6 Oct. 2023
  • None of them were holding instruments; some were sprawled on the ground, laughing over him.
    Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 29 May 2023
  • The crater might have been too small for it or its blast zone to be imaged by current instruments.
    Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 5 Nov. 2023
  • One Oakton student owned a guitar, so the band leaned on that instrument and the sousaphones to play the songs’ bass.
    Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2024
  • Only one of the instruments was fully intact, and that was all of two and a half inches long.
    Franz Lidz, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
  • After all this time, instruments remain a key part of our lives.
    Thania Garcia, Variety, 11 July 2023
  • The man, since deceased, knew the safest routes to climb and how to avoid putting instruments in locations that were sacred to locals.
    MarÍa Verza, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
  • One boat carries a sonar device with 512 beams to map the floor of the river and a lidar instrument, which uses lasers to scan the riverbank.
    Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Humankind’s instruments have mapped the corners of the planet, poked at the gravel underfoot and sampled the air that wafts across the dusty plains.
    Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2023
  • The album features duets, a calling card of his, but instead of two instruments on each track there are many.
    Martin Johnson, wsj.com, 3 May 2023
  • Kastner then sought out instruments that could produce a range of sounds and pitches.
    Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 18 Dec. 2023
  • The brilliance of the juke joint is that not only do the patrons feel pleasure, but the people behind the stove, behind the bar, and behind the instruments feel it too.
    Korsha Wilson, Bon Appétit, 11 Mar. 2024
  • Now, that power can be used to keep Voyager 2’s instruments up and running.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 May 2023
  • All members sang and played multiple instruments, with the banjo at the center of their sound.
    Adam Bradley Justin French, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Part of the reason so few people can play this style is the near-disappearance of the instrument: the seven-string guitar.
    Alex Higgins, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2023
  • With Deschanel, his instrument of choice is a non-issue.
    Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 28 Oct. 2023
  • Some played their instruments during the demonstrations to boost morale.
    Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2024
  • The instrument had not previously been a focal point of any rock band.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2023
  • Several people on Thursday showed that the worn and dull instrument had no sharp edge.
    Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
  • This is an instrument for major crimes that are killing and shooting and hurting people.
    Ash-Har Quraishi, Amy Corral, Chris Hacker, CBS News, 17 Oct. 2023
  • McLeish also pointed out that both are played in the key of D, with the instruments tuned in a similar style, which is what McLeish said people are picking up on.
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'instrument.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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