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 other key law, known as AB 1043, requires that device makers, like Apple and Google, implement tools to verify user ages in their app stores. Samantha Subin, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025 The easiest way to implement such a program would be to screen at birth. Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
Speed limits for implements of husbandry raised The maximum speed limit for implements of husbandry will be increased from 30 to 35 mph. Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 30 July 2025 Satellite and other mapping images suggest the structure, which replaced an area of farm implements near the corner of County Roads 23 and 86A, was built around the same time. Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for implement
Recent Examples of Synonyms for implement
Verb
  • Juneteenth recognizes the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln had signed more than two years earlier.
    Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2025
  • After dissolving their own three-person police force, the village has struggled to find a way to enforce village laws, the mayor said.
    Erin Glynn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The innovation could pave the way for medical tools that move through the body’s arteries or inspection devices that crawl into complex machinery.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Toys, even ones marketed as tools for the imagination, are never value neutral.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The innovation could pave the way for medical tools that move through the body’s arteries or inspection devices that crawl into complex machinery.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad were then called to the scene and were able to successfully locate and detonate the incendiary devices without any further incident.
    Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Implement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/implement. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on implement

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