instrument

noun

1. A device used to produce music.

   “The violinist was a master of her instrument.”

   “The Harpe. […] A harper with his wreſt maye tune the harpe wrong / Mys tunying of an Inſtrument ſhal hurt a true ſonge”

   “But those who attack violists shouldn't throw resin. Once the ergonomic viola catches on what instrument will be immune?”

2. A means or agency for achieving an aspect.

   ““There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]””

   “On the rocky island of Tungyin, 50 miles off the coast of Red China, is the headquarters of a little-known military unit called the Anti-Communist Salvation Army. The secret army, 30,000 strong, is Chiang Kai-shek's instrument for the long-promised return to the mainland.”

3. A measuring or displaying device.

   “The instrument detected an increase in radioactivity.”

4. A tool, implement used for manipulation or measurement.

   “The dentist set down his tray of instruments.”

   “The scientist recorded the temperature with a thermometer, but wished he had a more accurate instrument.”

5. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, plural-normally)A tool, implement used for manipulation or measurement.

   “Flight within clouds must be made by reference to your instruments.”

6. A legal document, such as a contract, deed, trust, mortgage, power, indenture, or will.

   “A bond indenture is the instrument that gives a bond its value.”

   “Negotiable instruments are the foundation of the debt markets.”

7. (figuratively)A person used as a mere tool for achieving a goal.

   “Or useful serving man and instrument, / To any sovereign state.”

   “The bold are but the instruments o' the wise.”

verb

1. (transitive)To apply measuring devices.

   “an instrumented test article”

2. (transitive)To devise, conceive, cook up, plan.

   “When the Lit. Mongers deign to notice his work, they dismiss him as a "cult writer," another of their standard ploys. Purdy, not really bitter at the instrumented silence and sneers of the bookchat legions, […]”

3. To perform upon an instrument; to prepare for an instrument.

   “a sonata instrumented for orchestra”