TOOL Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'tool' different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of tool are appliance , implement , instrument , and utensil . While all these words mean "a relatively simple device for performing work," tool suggests an implement adapted to facilitate a definite kind or stage of work and suggests the need of skill more strongly than implement . // a carpenter's tools

Q: When is it sensible to use 'appliance' instead of 'tool'?

While the synonyms appliance and tool are close in meaning, appliance refers to a tool or instrument utilizing a power source and suggests portability or temporary attachment. // household appliances

Q: In what contexts can 'implement' take the place of 'tool'?

In some situations, the words implement and tool are roughly equivalent. However, implement may apply to anything necessary to perform a task. // crude stone implements // farm implements

Q: When is 'instrument' a more appropriate choice than 'tool'?

While in some cases nearly identical to tool , instrument suggests a device capable of delicate or precise work. // the dentist's instruments

Q: When could 'utensil' be used to replace 'tool'?

The words utensil and tool can be used in similar contexts, but utensil applies to a device used in domestic work or some routine unskilled activity. // kitchen utensils

tool 1 of 2

noun

ˈtül

Definition of tool

as in device

an article intended for use in work needed a special tool to open the case of the appliance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in pawn

one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another a ruthless leader using his trusting followers as tools in his quest for power

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in sucker

one who is easily deceived or cheated you're just a pathetic tool of the advertising industry if you believe everything you see in TV commercials

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tool

2 of 2

verb

as in to drive

to travel by a motorized vehicle I spent some time tooling around town today

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word tool different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of tool are appliance, implement, instrument, and utensil. While all these words mean "a relatively simple device for performing work," tool suggests an implement adapted to facilitate a definite kind or stage of work and suggests the need of skill more strongly than implement.

a carpenter's tools

When is it sensible to use appliance instead of tool?

While the synonyms appliance and tool are close in meaning, appliance refers to a tool or instrument utilizing a power source and suggests portability or temporary attachment.

household appliances

In what contexts can implement take the place of tool?

In some situations, the words implement and tool are roughly equivalent. However, implement may apply to anything necessary to perform a task.

crude stone implements

farm implements

When is instrument a more appropriate choice than tool?

While in some cases nearly identical to tool, instrument suggests a device capable of delicate or precise work.

the dentist's instruments

When could utensil be used to replace tool?

The words utensil and tool can be used in similar contexts, but utensil applies to a device used in domestic work or some routine unskilled activity.

kitchen utensils

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tool

Noun

So long as people are manually placing trades, Boss thinks a speculator will be behind those who have tools to do the work for them. — Ananya Chetia,davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 1 Aug. 2026 Their struggles are becoming more commonplace as AI tools get baked directly into social media apps. — Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 31 July 2026

Verb

Perry was also spotted behind the wheel of an electric vehicle and tooled around town with Trudeau riding in the passenger seat. — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026 Its advanced chip features dedicated Neural Accelerators to drive on-device Apple Intelligence AI tools smoothly on iPadOS 26. — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for tool

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tool

Noun

If a young person spends much of their day on a digital device during the summer, giving it up on the first day of school is going to be an enormous challenge.

— Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
Future studies will need to determine exactly which magnetic state emerges and whether it can be reliably controlled in real-world devices.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of device

Noun

The Maryland Terrapins rolled these suckers out in the early 2010s and subsequently burned the retinas of college football fans all over the country.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Locate the Suckers Before you get started, find the plant’s main stems, which will have many secondary shoots or leaves, called suckers, growing off of them.

— Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 18 July 2026

Definition of sucker

Verb

To prevent speculation that drives up land price without actual construction, the zoning benefits would be granted only on submission of building-permit applications.

— Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
Real estate has always been driven by connections between buyers and sellers.

— Heartland MLS®, Kansas City Star, 22 July 2026

Definition of drive

Noun

At that point a central bank is no longer looking at a harvest but at second-round effects, and its instrument for those is the price of money.

— Ingmar Rentzhog, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
With characterization finished, GRETA is entering its regular operational phase as a primary instrument for FRIB users.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of instrument

Noun

An executive nobody had heard of became a target of online attacks for the offense of trying to turn around a fading chicken and biscuits restaurant.

— Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
The 2017 legislation also set a goal reaching 90% adequacy statewide by 2027 — a target many advocates even then viewed as improbable, if not impossible.

— Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of target

Verb

Yoshida began the top of the 10th as the automatic runner on second, but immediately motored to third on a first-pitch sacrifice bunt by Wong and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Seigler.

— Gabrielle Starr, Hartford Courant, 12 July 2026
Eventually, Flores and Álvarez motored to the rendezvous point, where there was no sign of the Fiorella, or of the other skiff.

— Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026

Definition of motor

Noun

Even then, though, the Bulls aren’t married to using the room exception for a rotation player and may prefer to keep it as a trade mechanism to absorb other players’ contracts and draft picks.

— Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
Gompers argues those similar numbers likely reflect two different mechanisms.

— Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of mechanism

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“Tool.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tool. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of tool

noun

verb

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