I. ˈtül noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English tol, tool, from Old English tōl; akin to Old Norse tōl tool, weapon, Gothic taujan to do, made — more at taw
1.
a. : an instrument (as a hammer or saw) used or worked by hand : an instrument used by a handicraftsman or laborer in his work : implement
b.
(1) : the cutting or shaping part in a machine or machine tool
(2) : a machine for shaping metal : machine tool
c. : a particular kind of hand tool: as
(1) : a bookbinder's instrument headed with a cut or engraved design with which impressions are made (as in finishing)
(2) : a small brush used in painting window sashes
2.
a. : an implement or object used in performing an operation or carrying on work of any kind : an instrument or apparatus necessary to a person in the practice of his vocation or profession
a barber's chair, a photographer's camera, a scholar's books are all tools
b. : something that serves as a means to an end : an instrument by which something is effected or accomplished
words are the tools with which men think — J.E.Gloag
respected advertising as an indispensable tool of business — Newsweek
c. archaic : sword , weapon
d. slang : penis
3. : one who is or allows himself to be used or manipulated by another : dupe , puppet
believes the whole business of witchcraft … and thinks that the old women who were burned were the tools of a great conspiracy against religion and society — O.W.Holmes †1935
an easy tool , deferential, glad to be of use — T.S.Eliot
Synonyms: see implement
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause (a vehicle) to move along : drive
tooled the car expertly through dark alleys and back streets — John Faulkner
b. : to convey in a vehicle
tooled him everywhere in a jeep — Hugh Fosburgh
tooling him out to the starboard boat circle off the bow — K.M.Dodson
2. : to shape, form, or finish with a tool
grotesque sandstone formations, tooled by centuries of wind and weather into freak shapes — American Guide Series: California
assumed that all aircraft parts are tooled accurately — Aero Digest
as
a. : to letter or ornament (a book cover) by means of heated hand tools
b. : to ornament the surface of (as a metal object) by means of hand tools
c. : to work on the surface of (a printing plate) with a hand tool (as to correct minor imperfections or engrave white lines)
3. : to equip (as a plant or industry) with the necessary tools, machines, and instruments for volume production
the engine would be abandoned before the plant could be tooled to make it — W.W.Stout
— often used with up
showed how easy it is to accumulate stockpiles, tool up war industries — J.P.Baxter b. 1893
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to drive or ride in a vehicle
turned off the highway … and tooled gently up the drive — R.P.Warren
the usual crowd of space cadets tooling along in a flying saucer — John McCarten
b. : to move along : proceed , travel
my grandfather, in one race tooling along at full gallop — Joyce Cary
2. : to use tools
3. : to equip a plant or industry for volume production by designing, building, and integrating the equipment (as machines, machine tools, precision instruments) required for making and assembling a product — often used with up
tool up to make smaller cars
III. noun
tools plural : natural ability
has all the tools to be a great pitcher
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: tool (II)
: a design (as on the binding of a book) made by tooling