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

Performing instrumental passages, the singer often lowers his head so much that his forehead nearly touches the piano keys. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026

And Thursday night, 32-year-old Ray Kerr made his playoff debut and gave his team 3⅓ scoreless innings as its starter, playing an instrumental role as the Braves locked down a winner-take-all National League Wild Card Series game. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026

The goal was to recapture the way music was recorded decades ago, bringing musicians together to play live, with large instrumental ensembles that, in some tracks, involved more than 90 musicians. — Franchesca Guim, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2026

No one was more instrumental in the pursuit of Mahomes than Veach. — Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for instrumental

• accidental
• compartmental
• continental
• detrimental
• elemental
• fundamental
• governmental
• incidental
• incremental
• interdental
• monumental
• nonjudgmental

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