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tool

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verb

as in to drive
to travel by a motorized vehicle I spent some time tooling around town today

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of tool are appliance, implement, instrument, and utensil. While all these words mean "a relatively simple device for performing work," 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 is it sensible to use appliance instead of tool?

While the synonyms appliance and tool are close in meaning, appliance refers to a tool or instrument utilizing a power source and suggests portability or temporary attachment.

household appliances

In what contexts can implement take the place of tool?

In some situations, the words implement and tool are roughly equivalent. However, implement may apply to anything necessary to perform a task.

crude stone implements
farm implements

When is instrument a more appropriate choice than tool?

While in some cases nearly identical to tool, instrument suggests a device capable of delicate or precise work.

the dentist's instruments

When could utensil be used to replace tool?

The words utensil and tool can be used in similar contexts, but 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 tool
Noun
For estate planners, CPAs, and financial advisors, the key takeaway is that tax tools should serve philanthropic intent, not drive it. Matthew F. Erskine, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025 Much of the class was about learning how to write out our prompts for the AI tools. Ernestine Siu, CNBC, 8 May 2025
Verb
Among the primary focuses of utilizing VR technology in the build process includes ensuring correct part ordering and tooling and enhancing safety and ergonomics, Sikorski said. Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2025 While in his mid-twenties, Olea would tool around the Key — or take a jaunt to Coconut Grove — with a carload of teenage girls. Clara-Sophia Daly, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tool
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tool
Noun
  • The highest tier, which is $20.99 a month, includes the ability to stream on four devices and offers 4K Ultra HD video quality and 100 downloads.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 16 May 2025
  • After Cecilie reported Oscar, the police went to the Hoffmanns' house to seize the devices Oscar had access to.
    Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 16 May 2025
Noun
  • Haley Pavone: The first thing that comes to mind is that small business owners like myself are really feeling like pawns in this trade war and we're feeling largely ignored.
    Rhett Buttle, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
  • In March, the pawn shop owner dropped the print off at the auction house, prosecutors said.
    Natalie Demaree, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The Vulcan system consists of a conventional robotic arm with a custom spatula-like appendage for poking into a shelf and a sucker for grabbing items to pull them out.
    Will Knight, Wired News, 7 May 2025
  • At a time when the world seems increasingly divided into winners and losers, exploiters and suckers, Henry Johnson speaks with sardonic eloquence to our current moment in American life.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • About 150 students and 50 adults were evacuated from an elementary school in Maryland after hours of heavy rains driven by an atmospheric river caused major flooding in multiple eastern states.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 15 May 2025
  • Kane was synonymous with Tottenham and had spent nine years driving the team forward with mountains of goals and assists.
    Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Noun
  • The 2025 Lincoln Navigator flagship gets dramatic new looks and features, including dramatic exterior lights, a new body and a high-def 48-inch instrument display stretching nearly the width of the big SUV’s dashboard.
    Mark Phelan, USA Today, 8 May 2025
  • One of Juno’s ten active instruments, the Microwave Radiometer (MWR) was specifically invented for the mission.
    Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Noun
  • Presidents, however, have wide leeway in setting refugee resettlement targets.
    Chris Kenning, USA Today, 18 May 2025
  • The Dutchman insisted there would be no problem convincing a target to join Liverpool, but that the fee involved could still be a stumbling block.
    Gregg Evans, New York Times, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • The man appears to briefly lift the scooter away from the child’s leg, the child gets back on the scooter, and Miller eventually motors away.
    Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 4 May 2025
  • Those motoring to work in a Rolls-Royce aren’t being left out, either.
    Susan Campos, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Through the tool, Michigan established clear feedback mechanisms, enabling students to help shape its ongoing development—a practice that builds both better technology and greater student buy-in.
    Dr. Aviva Legatt, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
  • With these legal mechanisms in place, the Korean adoption system grew.
    Time, Time, 15 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Tool.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tool. Accessed 21 May. 2025.

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