instances

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of instance.

   The audit uncovered numerous instances of duplicate billing.

   Historians point to earlier instances of the same pattern across the region.

   Note

   The plural counts cases or occasions, the senses of instance that are still alive: instances of fraud, earlier instances of a pattern. The noun's older meanings are obsolete: an urgent request, a sign or symptom, a motive, a piece of proof. A plural meaning 'pleas' or 'tokens' belongs to old texts. The same spelling also serves the verb meaning "cites", so check whether it is counting cases or citing one.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of instance.

   The author instances three court cases to support her argument.

   Whenever the topic arises, he instances his time abroad as evidence.

   Note

   The -s form of a verb for citing: she instances three cases, where cites or gives as an example would also fit. In that use it takes a direct object, which is the case being offered. Two technical uses share the form. A game instances a dungeon, giving each party its own private copy. A graphics engine instances objects, rendering a batch from the same geometry data.

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