I. tool 1 S2 W2 /tuːl/ BrE AmE 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 ↑ down 2 (3)
II. tool 2 BrE AmE 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.