tools of the/one's trade
idiom
: a set of tools or skills that are necessary for a particular kind of job or work
She showed me her paints, brushes, and the other tools of her trade.
Examples of tools of the/one's trade in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
With fewer people learning the tools of the trade, where will our future senior engineers come from?
—
Ryan Frankel, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
Firewalls, VPNs, endpoint controls—these were the tools of the trade when your most sensitive data lived inside your network.
—Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
But that hasn’t stopped generations of DJs from learning the tools of the trade while broadcasting music that, in some cases, isn’t found anywhere else on the airwaves.
—Steve Metsch, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
This shift will redefine not just the tools of the trade but also the very fabric of how ads are conceptualized, delivered and experienced.
—Mike Villalobos, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
First, get to know the tools of the trade
There are so many options.
—Kim Komando, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2025
In what’s become a painfully familiar scene among the L.A. music community, lives have been completely upended in the fires’ wake and tools of the trade — gear, instruments, archival recordings and home studios — ruined.
—Roy Trakin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
His son bought up the tools of the trade and put them to use, running chain lines late into his life.
—Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025
For Jones, these assets are not just tools of the trade but the linchpin of his media empire.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
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Ryan Frankel, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
Firewalls, VPNs, endpoint controls—these were the tools of the trade when your most sensitive data lived inside your network.
—Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
But that hasn’t stopped generations of DJs from learning the tools of the trade while broadcasting music that, in some cases, isn’t found anywhere else on the airwaves.
—Steve Metsch, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
This shift will redefine not just the tools of the trade but also the very fabric of how ads are conceptualized, delivered and experienced.
—Mike Villalobos, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
First, get to know the tools of the trade
There are so many options.
—Kim Komando, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2025
In what’s become a painfully familiar scene among the L.A. music community, lives have been completely upended in the fires’ wake and tools of the trade — gear, instruments, archival recordings and home studios — ruined.
—Roy Trakin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
His son bought up the tools of the trade and put them to use, running chain lines late into his life.
—Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025
For Jones, these assets are not just tools of the trade but the linchpin of his media empire.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tools of the/one's trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tools%20of%20the%2Fone%27s%20trade. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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