toolnoun [ C ]
uk/tuːl/us/tuːl/tool noun [ C ] (EQUIPMENT)
a piece of equipment that you use with your hands to make or repair something:
power tools
machine tools
something that helps you to do a particular activity:
A free low-interest credit card can be a useful budgeting tool.
tool of the trade
A tool of the trade is something you need to use to do your job:
The artist was surrounded by paints, brushes, and other tools of the trade.
More examples
- This tool is used to make holes in leather.
- A hammer is a simple tool.
- I always keep a set of tools in the back of my car.
- Early humans shaped tools out of stone.
- Our lawn mower and lots of garden tools were stolen from the shed.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Tools in general
- aid
- blade
- device
- gadget
- hardware
- household goods
- implement
- instrument
- machine tool
- power tool
- precision instrument
- sucker
- suction cup
- toolbox
- toolkit
- utensil
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Things needed for a task
tool noun [ C ] (PERSON)
disapproving someone whose decisions and actions are unfairly controlled by others:
The president was widely regarded as the tool of the military.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Lack of freedom to act
- be in bondage to sth idiom
- be locked in sth
- bondage
- bound
- bound
- hand
- lock
- oppressed
- option
- paralysis
- paralytic
- qualified
- regimented
- shackle
- tether
- thumb
- tie
- tyranny
- under sb's thumb idiom
- under the heel of sth/sb idiom
See more results »
tool noun [ C ] (PENIS)
offensive a penis
offensive an insulting word for a person who you dislike very much or who behaves very stupidly