# instrument

Pronunciation: say "IN-struh-muhnt" /ˈɪnstɹəmənt/

## Noun

1. A device used to produce musical sound, such as a piano, violin, or trumpet.
   - Simple: A device, like a piano or drum, that makes music when you play it.
   - _He can play almost any instrument you hand him._
   - _The museum displays rare instruments from the eighteenth century._
2. A tool or implement used for handling, working with, or measuring something.
   - Simple: A tool used to do careful work or to take measurements.
   - _The surgeon reached for a sharper instrument to make the incision._
   - _Craftsmen kept their delicate instruments in a velvet-lined case._
3. A device that measures or displays a value or reading.
   - Simple: A device that measures something or shows a reading, like a gauge or dial.
   - _An instrument on the dashboard tracks the vehicle's speed._
   - _Technicians calibrate the instruments to ensure accurate readings._
4. A means or agency through which an effect is achieved.
   - Simple: A means or way of making something happen.
   - _The treaty became an instrument of lasting peace between the nations._
   - _Public protest has long served as an instrument of political change._
5. A formal legal document, such as a contract, deed, trust, mortgage, or will.
   - Simple: An official paper that records a legal agreement, like a contract or will.
   - _The notary verified that the instrument had been properly executed._
   - _Both instruments transferred ownership of the property to the trust._
6. A person used by another merely as a tool for achieving a goal.
   - Simple: A person who is used by someone else just to get what they want.
   - _She realized she had been an instrument in his rise to power._
   - _The general saw his soldiers as instruments of his ambition._
10. Ellipsis of flight instrument. — Ellipsis of flight instrument.
   - Simple: Short for flight instrument. It means a cockpit device that shows things like height or speed.
   - _In zero visibility, a pilot must trust every instrument on the panel._
   - _The instruments indicated a rapid loss of altitude._

## Verb

7. To devise, plan, or conceive something.
   - Simple: To plan or come up with a scheme or idea.
   - _The committee instrumented a strategy to reform the budget._
   - _Rebels instrument elaborate plots against the regime._
8. To perform on a musical instrument, or to arrange a piece of music for instruments.
   - Simple: To play music on an instrument, or to arrange music for instruments to play.
   - _The arranger instrumented the symphony for a chamber group._
   - _Few students can instrument a score as skillfully as she does._
9. To equip something with measuring devices.
   - Simple: To add measuring devices to something so you can record what it does.
   - _Researchers instrument the prototype to capture stress data._
   - _The team instrumented the rocket with dozens of sensors._

## Origin

From Middle English instrument, borrowed via Old French instrument from Latin īnstrūmentum ("an implement, tool"), which comes from the verb īnstruō ("to build, construct, arrange") plus the suffix -mentum.

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