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tooling up

 - 3 dictionary results

tool

[tool] ,
–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.
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


tooler, noun
toolless, adjective


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.
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Slang Dictionary
tool

  1. n.
    an earnest student. (See also power tool.) : Of course he's a tool. See the plastic liner in his pocket?
  2. n.
    a dupe; someone who can be victimized easily. : They were looking for some tool to drive the getaway car.
  3. in.
    to speed along (in a car). (See also tool around.) : We were tooling along at about seventy-five when the cop spotted us.
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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