tool
[noun]
Synonyms:
- implement, appliance, contraption, contrivance, device, gadget, instrument, machine, utensil
- puppet, cat's-paw, creature, flunkey, hireling, lackey, minion, pawn, stooge (slang)

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Related Words: machine, mechanism, agent, hireling, vehicle, chump, sucker

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. tool¹ S2 W2 /tuːl/ noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: tol]

1. something that you hold in your hand and use to do a particular job:
I don’t have the right tools to start fiddling around with the engine.
a shop selling garden tools

2. a piece of equipment or a skill that is useful for doing your job:
Television is an important tool for the modern teacher.
These books are the tools of my trade (=the things I need to do my job).

3. someone who is used unfairly by another person and who has to do things they do not really want to do – used to show disapproval
tool of
The king was merely a tool of the military government.

4. informal not polite a man’s penis (=sex organ)
⇒ down tools at down²(3)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. tool² verb [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]
American English informal to drive along a street, especially for fun:
He spent the afternoon tooling around town.
tool up phrasal verb
to prepare a factory for producing goods by providing the necessary tools and machinery
tool something ↔ up
The factory was tooled up to produce light weapons.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

tool
noun
I. instrument for making/repairing things
ADJ. general-purpose, multi-purpose | basic, primitive, standard, traditional craftsmen using traditional tools
sophisticated, special | sharp | rusting/rusty | cutting, drawing, measuring | cordless, hand, machine, power | agricultural, engineering, farm, garden/gardening, industrial, woodworking
QUANT. set
VERB + TOOL use | sharpen | blunt Cutting concrete would blunt a metal-cutting tool.
down ~s Workers downed tools (= stopped work) in protest at poor safety standards in the works.
TOOL + NOUN kit
PHRASES the tool/tools of the trade The guitarist opened the case and took out the tool of his trade.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tool
II. sth that helps you do/achieve sth
ADJ. effective, essential, important, indispensable, invaluable, major, necessary, powerful, useful, valuable, vital | educational, learning, reference, research This dictionary is an invaluable reference tool for advanced learners.
ideological, negotiating, political, propaganda We must ensure that education is not used as a political tool.
communication, management, marketing | analysis/analytical, design, desktop, development, drawing, multimedia, presentation, programming, software

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲