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tool

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tool

  [tool] ,
Use tool in a Sentence
–noun
1. an implement, esp. one held in the hand, as a hammer, saw, or file, for performing or facilitating mechanical operations.
2. any instrument of manual operation.
3. the cutting or machining part of a lathe, planer, drill, or similar machine.
4. the machine itself; a machine tool.
5. anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose: Education is a tool for success.
6. a person manipulated by another for the latter's own ends; cat's-paw.
7. the design or ornament impressed upon the cover of a book.
8. Underworld Slang.
a. a pistol or gun.
b. a pickpocket.
9. Slang: Vulgar. penis.
–verb (used with object)
10. to work or shape with a tool.
11. to work decoratively with a hand tool.
12. to ornament (the cover of a book) with a bookbinder's tool.
13. to drive (a vehicle): He tooled the car along the treacherous path.
14. to equip with tools or machinery.
–verb (used without object)
15. to work with a tool.
16. to drive or ride in a vehicle: tooling along the freeway.
—Verb phrase
17. tool up, to install machinery designed for performing a particular job: manufacturers tooling up for production.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME (n.); OE tōl; c. ON tōl tools; akin to taw 2

Related forms:
tooler, noun
toolless, adjective

Synonyms:
1. Tool, implement, instrument, utensil refer to contrivances for doing work. A tool is a contrivance held in and worked by the hand, for assisting the work of (especially) mechanics or laborers: a carpenter's tools. An implement is any tool or contrivance designed or used for a particular purpose: agricultural implements. An instrument is anything used in doing a certain work or producing a certain result, especially such as requires delicacy, accuracy, or precision: surgical or musical instruments. A utensil is especially an article for domestic use: kitchen utensils. When used figuratively of human agency, tool is generally used in a contemptuous sense; instrument, in a neutral or good sense: a tool of unscrupulous men; an instrument of Providence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tool
tool   (tōōl)   
n.  

  1. A device, such as a saw, used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical work.

    1. A machine, such as a lathe, used to cut and shape machine parts or other objects.

    2. The cutting part of such a machine.

    3. A bookbinder's hand stamp.

    4. A design impressed on a book cover by such a stamp.

  3. Something regarded as necessary to the carrying out of one's occupation or profession: Words are the tools of our trade.

  4. Something used in the performance of an operation; an instrument: "Modern democracies have the fiscal and monetary tools . . . to end chronic slumps and galloping inflations" (Paul A. Samuelson).

  5. Vulgar Slang A penis.

  6. A person used to carry out the designs of another; a dupe.

    1. A bookbinder's hand stamp.

    2. A design impressed on a book cover by such a stamp.

  8. Computer Science An application program, often one that creates, manipulates, modifies, or analyzes other programs.

v.   tooled, tool·ing, tools

v.   tr.

  1. To form, work, or decorate with a tool.

  2. To ornament (a book cover) with a bookbinder's tool.

  3. Slang To drive (a vehicle): tooled the car at 80 miles an hour.

v.   intr.

  1. To work with a tool.

  2. Slang To drive or ride in a vehicle: tooled up and down the roads.

Phrasal Verb(s):
tool upTo provide an industry or a factory with machinery and tools suitable for a particular job.

[Middle English, from Old English tōl, possibly from Old Norse.]
Synonyms: These nouns refer to devices used in the performance of work. Tool applies broadly to a device that facilitates work; specifically it denotes a small manually operated device: a box full of tools for bike repair.
Instrument refers especially to a relatively small precision tool used by trained professionals: sterilized the scalpel and the other instruments.
Implement is the preferred term for tools used in agriculture and certain building trades: rakes, hoes, and other implements.
Utensil often refers to an implement used in a household, especially in the kitchen: cooking utensils hung by the stove.
Appliance most frequently denotes a power-driven device that performs a specific function: a store selling toasters and other appliances.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

tool 
O.E. tol "instrument, implement," from P.Gmc. *tolan (cf. O.N. tol), from a verb stem represented by O.E. tawian "prepare." The ending is the instrumental suffix -l (e.g. shovel). Fig. sense of "person used by another for his own ends" is recorded from 1663. Slang meaning "penis" first recorded 1553. The verb "to drive a vehicle" is first attested 1812, probably from the noun. The meaning "to work or shape with a tool" is recorded from 1815; that of "equip (a factory) with machine tools" is from 1927. Tool-box first recorded 1832.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

tool
1. A program used primarily to create, manipulate, modify, or analyse other programs, such as a compiler or an editor or a cross-referencing program. Opposite: app, operating system.
2. A Unix application program with a simple, "transparent" (typically text-stream) interface designed specifically to be used in programmed combination with other tools (see filter, plumbing).
3. (MIT: general to students there) To work; to study (connotes tedium). The TMRC Dictionary defined this as "to set one's brain to the grindstone". See hack.
4. (MIT) A student who studies too much and hacks too little. MIT's student humour magazine rejoices in the name "Tool and Die".
[The Jargon File]
(1996-12-12)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Northern Tool + Equipment
Northern Tool® Official Site - Find The Brands You Know & Trust.
www.NorthernTool.com
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