# instance

Pronunciation: say "IN-stuhns" /ˈɪnstəns/

## Noun

1. A case offered as an example or precedent; an illustrative example.
   - Simple: A case used to explain or support a point, or to guide later decisions.
   - _The lawyer cited an instance from a previous trial to support her argument._
   - _His kindness was well known in town; one instance was the winter night he drove a stranded stranger two hours home._
2. A particular occurrence of something that happens repeatedly in essentially the same way.
   - Simple: One of several times that the same kind of thing happens again.
   - _Investigators logged dozens of instances of unauthorized access._
   - _Each instance of the glitch was reported to the support team._
3. A particular occasion; the point or order in which something occurs.
   - Simple: A particular occasion or step in the order that things happen.
   - _In the first instance, complaints go to the department head._
   - _The matter was settled by a court of first instance before any appeal._
5. A specific occurrence of something created or instantiated, such as a running database or an object of a class in programming.
   - Simple: A particular thing created in computing, such as an object made from a class or a running copy of a program.
   - _The server spins up a fresh instance of the database for each client._
   - _Calling the constructor creates a new instance of the class._
6. One of the separately run servers that together make up a decentralized social network such as Mastodon.
   - Simple: A separate server that runs part of a social network like Mastodon.
   - _He moved his account to an instance focused on photography._
   - _Some instances block others over moderation disputes._
7. In a video game, a dungeon or other area copied for each player or party that enters, or one such private copy.
   - Simple: In a video game, a place that each player or group gets their own private copy of.
   - _Our guild finally cleared the hardest instance in the expansion after a week of wipes._
   - _Players queue up before entering the instance._
9. An urgent request or urging, now used chiefly in the formal phrase "at the instance of" (at someone's request or prompting).
   - Simple: A request or strong urging, now used mostly in the formal phrase "at the instance of".
   - _At the instance of the queen, the prisoner was pardoned._
   - _The inquiry was reopened at the instance of the victims' families._

## Verb

4. To give something as an example, or to offer examples, in support of a point or argument.
   - Simple: To give an example to show or prove what you are saying.
   - _To support her claim, she instanced three recent court rulings._
   - _Critics instance several films that broke box-office records._

## Noun

8. Something that serves as a sign or proof that a thing is so, as a symptom points to an illness. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A sign that shows or proves that something is true.
10. Something pressing that drives a person to act; a motive. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An urgent reason that pushes a person to act.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To duplicate a dungeon or other area for each player or party, so each has a private copy isolated from others.
- (verb) To render an object as part of a batch, drawing multiple copies from the same geometry data.

## Origin

Latin "instans" ("urgent") gave rise to "instantia," a noun for nearness and presence that could also mean perseverance, earnestness, or urgency; English borrowed the word through Middle French "instance." "Instant" shares the same root.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/instance (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).