tools

Noun

tool (plural tools)

1. Any physical device meant to ease or do a task.
   • Several prehistoric tools, including a stone ax, were found during the dig.
   1. Any piece of equipment used in a profession, such as a craftsman's.
      • the tools of the trade
2. Anything that aids someone to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.
   • Idleness is a tool of the devil.
3. A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.
   • The software engineer had been developing lots of EDA tools.
4. A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group, a pawn.
   • She was a tool of the pharmaceutical lobby.
5. A particular skill pertaining to baseball (such as hitting, running, etc.).
   • a five-tool player

See all 17 meanings of tool