instrumental

adjective

in·​stru·​men·​tal ˌin(t)-strə-ˈmen-tᵊl 

1

a

: serving as a crucial means, agent, or tool

was instrumental in organizing the strike

b

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

2

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

3

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

4

: of or relating to instrumentalism

5

: 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.

Examples of instrumental in a Sentence

They played instrumental music at the wedding.

an instrumental version of a song

Recent Examples on the Web

Ong has more than 25 years of games industry experience at Marvel, Blizzard Entertainment, EA Sports and Xbox and has been instrumental in launching titles including the Marvel’s Spider-Man series, Marvel Snap, Marvel Contest of Champions and Marvel Strike Force. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024

Walden also was instrumental in bringing the Kardashians to Hulu from their cable home on the E! —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024

Fourteen species of baleen whales are instrumental in moving carbon, nitrogen and iron through the ocean, a 2021 study in Nature found. —Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024

His costuming of Daniel Craig was instrumental in resuscitating the franchise. —Guy Trebay, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024

Singh, who joined Skybound in 2021, has been instrumental in its marketing and sales successes, according to Tuesday’s announcement. —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024

Two decades later, Hasler has also been instrumental in getting the Hügu Himu loops off the ground. —Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024

For instance, carbon reduction or avoidance offsets through clean cooking programs are instrumental in reducing emissions and bringing co-benefits of better health and incomes to some of the poorest parts of the world. —Simi Thambi​, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024

Since joining Metro in 2018, Hessel has been instrumental in expanding the company’s podcast, audio and books strategic consumer communications services. —Marc Schneider, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

instrumental

adjective

in·​stru·​men·​tal ˌin(t)-strə-ˈment-ᵊl 

1

a

: acting as an instrument or means

was instrumental in organizing the club

b

: of, relating to, or done with an instrument

instrumental error

2

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

an unusual instrumental arrangement

instrumentally

-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

Medical Definition

instrumental

adjective

in·​stru·​men·​tal ˌin(t)-strə-ˈment-ᵊl 

: operant

instrumental learning

instrumental conditioning