English Explanatory Dictionary

tool

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any physical device meant to ease or do a task.
  2. Any piece of equipment used in a profession, such as a craftsman's.
  3. Anything that aids someone to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.
  4. A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.
  5. A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group, a pawn.
  6. A particular skill pertaining to baseball (such as hitting, running, etc.).
  7. A penis, notably with a sexual or erotic connotation.
  8. An obnoxious or uptight person.
  9. A handgun.
verb
  1. To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather.
  2. To equip with tools.
  3. To work very hard.
  4. To put down another person (possibly in a subtle, hidden way), and in that way to use him or her to meet a goal.
  5. To intentionally attack the ball so that it deflects off a blocker out of bounds.
  6. To drive (a coach or other vehicle).
  7. To carry or convey in a coach or other vehicle.
  8. To travel in a vehicle; to ride or drive.

Pronunciation

to͞ol /tuːl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-tool.wav /tul/ /tʉːl/ /tʉl/

Word forms

tool tools tooling tooled

Etymology

From Middle English tool, tol, from Old English tōl (“tool, implement, instrument”, literally “that with which one prepares something”), perhaps borrowed from Old Norse tól, but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tōlą (“that which is used in preparation, tool”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”), equivalent to taw (“to prepare”) + -le (agent suffix). Cognate with Scots tuil (“tool, implement, instrument, device”), Icelandic tól (“tool”), Faroese tól (“tool, instrument”). Related to Old English tāwian (“to make, prepare, or cultivate”); see taw, and tow ("fibres used for spinning").

Synonyms

tool anaconda baloney pony bald-headed hermit banana birdie bobby boonga cack choad choda chode chopper cigar cock corey crank cucumber custard launcher D dick dicklet diddle diddly dingaling ding-a-ling ding-dong dinger dingle dingus dingy dink dinkle dipstick dirk disco stick dog bone dong donger Donkey Kong doodle dork down fire hose fuckpole gherkin hairy canary hammer hog hot dog hot rod hoo-hoo hooter it jade stalk jamoke jigger jimmy jock johnson

Related words

instrument device :Category:Tools

Derived words

claw tool course authoring tool criminal tool crimping tool deburring tool down tools dry-tool edge tool entrenching tool E-tool fine adjustment tool five-tool five tool player five-tool player go back to the tools grafting tool Halligan tool hand tool hive tool hooligan tool Hurst tool Jacot tool K-tool love tool macaroni tool machine tool metatool meta-tool microtool mindtool multitool multi-tool nanotool not the sharpest tool in the box not the sharpest tool in the shed oscillating tool rape tool retool set tool sex tool shaving tool side tool spare tool swing tool tint tool tip tool toolage tool and die toolbag toolbar tool bar tool-bar toolbelt toolbox tool box toolbuilder toolbuilding toolcase toolchain toolchest

Translations

Afrikaans: gereedskap Albanian: mjet Albanian: vegël Amharic: መሣሪያ Arabic: أَدَاة Arabic: آلَة Arabic: عُدَّة Arabic: اداة Arabic: عِدّة Arabic: دزان Armenian: գործիք Assamese: সঁজুলি Assamese: আহিলা Asturian: ferramienta Asturian: utensiliu Asturian: arbía Asturian: preséu Avar: алат Azerbaijani: alət Azerbaijani: hacat Belarusian: інструме́нт Belarusian: прыла́да Belarusian: інструма́нт Belarusian: струма́нт Belarusian: струмэ́нт Belarusian: сро́дак Bengali: সাধনী Bulgarian: инструме́нт Bulgarian: оръ́дие Bulgarian: сре́дство Burmese: ကိရိယာ Catalan: eina Cebuano: gamit Cebuano: himan Chinese Cantonese: 架生 Chinese Cantonese: 工具 Eastern Min Chinese: 工具 Hakka Chinese: 工具 Chinese: 家私 Chinese: 工具 Chinese Mandarin: 工具 Wu Chinese: 工具 Ngazidja Comorian: shomɓo (shombo) Crimean Tatar: alet Czech: nástroj Danish: værktøj Danish: redskab Danish: instrument Danish: grej Dutch: gereedschap Dutch: werktuig Dutch: instrument Dutch: hulpmiddel Esperanto: laborilo Esperanto: ilo Estonian: tööriist Estonian: instrumentaalprogramm Finnish: työkalu French: outil West-Frisian: ark Galician: ferramenta Georgian: ინსტრუმენტი German: Gerät German: Instrument German: Werkzeug German: Tool Greek: εργαλείο Greek: όργανο Ancient Greek: ἐργαλεῖον Haitian Creole: zouti Hebrew: כְּלִי Higaonon: himan Hindi: उपकरण Hindi: औज़ार
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