instrumental

adjective

in·stru·men·tal ˌin(t)-strə-ˈmen-tᵊl

Synonyms of instrumental next

: serving as a crucial means, agent, or tool

was instrumental in organizing the strike

: of, relating to, or done with an instrument or tool

: relating to, composed for, or performed on a musical instrument

: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case or form expressing means or agency

: of or relating to instrumentalism

: operant sense 3

instrumental learning

instrumental conditioning

instrumental noun

instrumentally

ˌin(t)-strə-ˈmen-tᵊl-ē

adverb

Did you know?

An instrument is a tool, something used to construct. It's often a tool for making music. A musical saw happens to be a carpenter's tool that can be played with a violin bow (though you probably wouldn't want to play a wrench or a pair of pliers). The musical meanings of instrumental, as in "It starts with an instrumental piece" or "a jazz instrumental", are common. But the meanings "helpful", "useful", and "essential", as in "He was instrumental in getting my book published", are just as common.

Example Sentences

They played instrumental music at the wedding. an instrumental version of a song

Recent Examples on the Web Wojcicki was instrumental in helping the firm in its early days, renting out her garage to the founders for $1,700 a month. —

Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2023 Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Shoichiro Toyoda, who as a son of the company’s founder oversaw Toyota’s expansion into international markets and was instrumental in establishing its plant in San Antonio, has died. —

Patrick Danner, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Feb. 2023 But also — and this ties back to why Henny’s story starts this — these are families that were instrumental in putting the MMIW movement on the map nationally. —

Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2023 One leading player is the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which was instrumental in passing that state’s anti-boycott bill. —

Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 15 Feb. 2023 Dementiev and Conway, fellow senior captains, were instrumental in the Rockets’ first-place finish. —

Emma Healy, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Feb. 2023 Continued premiumization amongst agave spirits—as well as American whiskey categories—was instrumental in helping liquor finally take the title from beer. —

Brad Japhe, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2023 Zalkin represented hundreds of claimants in the 2007 cases and was instrumental in negotiating the final settlement. —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2023 Awareness-raising campaigns have been instrumental in reducing at FGM in Africa and the Middle East, but India has seen little progress. —

Sushmita Pathak, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Feb. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'instrumental.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.