tooling

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The provision of tools and equipment for an industrial process or for developing software.

   Setting up the tooling for the new engine block took several months.

   The team invested in better tooling to speed up their development workflow.

   Similarequipment

2. 2
   noununcountable

   Ornamental work or designs produced on a surface by shaping or marking it with a tool.

   The saddle's intricate tooling marked it as the work of a master craftsman.

   Fine tooling decorated the spine of the antique volume.

   Similarembossing, ornamentation

3. 3
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of tool.

   The craftsman spent the afternoon tooling delicate designs into the cover.

   The company is tooling its plant to produce electric motors.

   Note

   One spelling carries every verb sense of tool, so the surrounding words decide which is meant. With an object it usually means shaping, as in tooling a leather cover, or equipping, as in tooling a plant for new motors. These are the two uses behind the decorative noun and the equipment noun. Without an object it can mean working very hard. In dated British slang, tooling a coach meant driving it.

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