implement 1 of 2

implement

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word implement different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of implement are appliance, instrument, tool, and utensil. While all these words mean "a relatively simple device for performing work," implement may apply to anything necessary to perform a task.

crude stone implements
farm implements

When can appliance be used instead of implement?

The meanings of appliance and implement largely overlap; however, appliance refers to a tool or instrument utilizing a power source and suggests portability or temporary attachment.

household appliances

When is it sensible to use instrument instead of implement?

The words instrument and implement can be used in similar contexts, but instrument suggests a device capable of delicate or precise work.

the dentist's instruments

How are the words tool and implement related?

Tool suggests an implement adapted to facilitate a definite kind or stage of work and suggests the need of skill more strongly than implement.

a carpenter's tools

When could utensil be used to replace implement?

Although the words utensil and implement have much in common, utensil applies to a device used in domestic work or some routine unskilled activity.

kitchen utensils

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of implement
Verb
The key for companies to implement these cost recouping tools is transparency. Kevin Williams, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2025 The population drop triggered the NPS and other state and federal agencies to implement population recovery steps from their Devils Hole Pupfish Strategic Plan. Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Noun
The men then stabbed the attacker multiple times in the body with his own implement. William Lee, Chicago Tribune, 18 June 2025 All of these implements would have been strikingly familiar to hunter-gatherers of the modern Australian Bindibu, Tanzanian Hadza, or South African San people. ArsTechnica, 7 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for implement
Recent Examples of Synonyms for implement
Verb
  • Deployments have been used to enforce civil rights, quell urban violence, and, once, even to fill in for striking postal workers.
    Ramon Padilla, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
  • In addition, European officials pushed Washington to use its economic leverage to enforce any ceasefire with strict consequences for Moscow, if violated.
    Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • From building a beauty empire to navigating purpose through pain, Monique shares the lessons, leaps of faith, and leadership tools that have shaped her journey.
    Essence, Essence, 13 Aug. 2025
  • The money, found in boxes of antique tools, included rare bills and silver coins dating back to the 1940s and 1950s.
    Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 12 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Video and recording devices including Go Pros & Google glasses.
    Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • The port scar on her chest, left behind from the device that once flowed chemotherapy treatments into her body, proved especially tricky to conceal.
    Catherine Santino, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Implement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/implement. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on implement

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