tool /tuːl/noun 9verb 8forms 3phrases 2 noun9 •an object used to do a job or to make a task easier, often one that is held and moved by the handSeveral prehistoric tools, including a stone ax, were found during the dig.A screwdriver is a tool that no household should be without. •Any piece of equipment used in a profession, such as a craftsman's.Rakes, shovels, hoes, and spades are some of the tools of the gardener's trade.I don't have the right tools to start fiddling around with the engine. •Anything that aids someone to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.Idleness is a tool of the devil.A spreadsheet app and a bookkeeping app are some of the principal tools of a bookkeeper. •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.a tool for recovering deleted files from a disk •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.He was a tool of a foreign influence operation. •(vulgar, offensive) An obnoxious or uptight person.He won't sell us tickets because it's 3:01, and they went off sale at 3. That guy's such a tool. •(informal, vulgar) A penis, notably with a sexual or erotic connotation.Or haue wee some strange Indian with the great Toole, come to Court, the women so besiege vs? — 1613 •A particular skill pertaining to baseball (such as hitting, running, etc.). •(US, slang) A handgun.In my city keep a tool Lil nigga you know the rules — 2019 verb8 •To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather. •(slang, old-fashioned) To drive (a coach or other vehicle). •(slang) To travel in a vehicle; to ride or drive.March 8, 1890, Byron P. Stephenson, "My Trip to Brazil", in Illustrated American boys on their bicycles tooling along the well-kept roads •(slang) To put down another person (possibly in a subtle, hidden way), and in that way to use him or her to meet a goal.Dude, he's not your friend. He's just tooling you. •To equip with tools. •To intentionally attack the ball so that it deflects off a blocker out of bounds. •To work very hard.Do this lab and read this book, now tool, one and all, And be sure and pass that final quiz or be screwed right to the wall. — 1965 •(slang, old-fashioned) To carry or convey in a coach or other vehicle. formstooled · tooling · tools Phrases with tool tool aroundTo drive or jaunt about, going from place to place without any specific direction or goal. tool upTo furnish with equipment.
