instrument: Meaning and Definition of
in•stru•ment
Pronunciation: (in'stru-munt), [key] — n.
- a mechanical tool or implement, esp. one used for delicate or precision work: surgical instruments.
- a contrivance or apparatus for producing musical sounds: a stringed instrument.
- a means by which something is effected or done; agency: an instrument of government.
- a device for measuring the present value of a quantity under observation.
- a mechanical or electronic measuring device, esp. one used in navigation: landing a plane by instruments.
- a formal legal document, as a draft or bond: negotiable instruments.
- a person used by another merely as a means to some private end; tool or dupe.
—v.t. - to equip with instruments, as a machine or manufacturing process: to instrument a space vehicle.
- to arrange a composition for musical instruments; orchestrate.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.