tool

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. instrument, implement, utensil, device, machine; cat's-paw, dupe, henchman, intermediary.

See instrumentality.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [An implement]

Syn. implement, utensil, machine, instrument, mechanism, weapon, apparatus, appliance, engine, means, contrivance, gadget; see also device 1 .

Common tools include: can opener, hammer, mallet, knife, adz, vise, auger, lathe, router, sander, scraper, trowel, awl, hoe, shovel, rake, spade, jack, crank, pulley, wheel, bar, crowbar, lever, sledge, winch, cam, loom, shuttle, chisel, plane, screw, brace, bit, file, saw, drill, square, chisel, shears, screwdriver, wrench, pliers, tweezers, punch, level, scissors, ax, hatchet, corkscrew, jimmy.

2. [One who permits himself to be used]

Syn. accessory, auxiliary, accomplice, hireling, dupe, intermediary, cat's-paw, medium, vehicle, agent, go-between, messenger, easy mark, stool pigeon*, jay*, hayseed*, greenhorn*, sucker*, patsy*, stooge*, come-on*, tuna*; see also servant .

Syn.- tool is commonly applied to manual implements such as are used in carpentry, plumbing, etc.; implement applies to any device used to carry on some work or effect some purpose [ agricultural implements] ; instrument specifically implies use for delicate work or for scientific or artistic purposes [ surgical instruments] and may also be applied, as are tool and implement , to a thing or person serving as a means to an end; appliance specifically suggests a mechanical or power-driven device, esp. one for household use; utensil is used of any implement or container for domestic use, esp. a pot, pan, etc.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. implement instrument, utensil, gadget, labor-saving device, apparatus, mechanism, machine, contraption, contrivance, *gizmo, *doohickey, *whatsit.

WORD FIND

saws

• band, saw comprised of rotating, toothed: band saw

• chained blade: chain saw

• circular saw, stationary: buzz saw, bench saw

• curve-cutting, electrical saw: jigsaw, saber saw

• curve-cutting handsaw: compass saw, keyhole saw, coping saw

• curving ornamentation, cuts: scroll saw

• grain, cuts across: crosscut saw

• grain, cuts with: ripsaw

• hand-powered saw used with sawbuck: bucksaw

• hole-cutting saw: dial saw

• Japanese craftsman’s hatchetlike saw for cutting dovetails: dozuki

• Japanese craftsman’s saw with dual-edged blade that cuts on the pull stroke: ryoba

• metal-cutting: hacksaw

• miter-cutting circular saw: miter saw

• miter-cutting guide: miter box

• shallow-cutting or veneer-cutting saw: veneer saw

• stationary, electrical saw with mobile bladeholding arm: radial arm saw

• two-person hand-powered saw for cutting timbers: whipsaw

• wire coated with tungsten carbide, used by campers: pocket saw

knives, piercers, carvers, cutters

• axlike tool for trimming wood: adz

• brush or sugar-cane cutter: machete

• fabric-cutting shears: pinking shears

• glass-cutting device: glass-cutter

• grain-cutter with short, curving blade: sickle

• grass-cutter with long, curving blade: scythe

• hole-piercer, esp. for leather: awl

• metal shears: tin snips, hawk’s bill snips

• pencillike precision knife for cutting light material: precision knife, *Xacto knife

• pipe-cutting tool: pipe cutter

• pole with hook on end, used by lumberjacks: pickaroon

• retractable blade, hollow handle with multiple-uses: utility knife

• wedgelike tool that is hammered: chisel

• wire-cutting pliers: wire cutter

sharpeners, shavers, smoothers

• abrader: file, rasp

• gouger: router

• planing tool: bullnose plane, chamfering plane, planer, spokeshave

• polisher: buffer

• sander: belt sander, disk sander

• stone for sharpening blades: whetstone

• wood-turning machine used to cut, plane and shape: lathe

hammers and nail-pullers

• automatic, mechanical nail-driver: nail gun

• brad driver: brad pusher

• clawed, nail-pulling hammer: claw hammer

• claws, hammer with straight: rip hammer

• hammer with rounded instead of clawed back: ball peen hammer, machinist’s hammer

• long or short-handled hammer with very heavy metal head: sledgehammer

• mallet filled with shot to prevent rebounding: deadblow hammer

• nail-pulling steel bar resembling crowbar: cat’s paw

• sledgehammer, small: engineer’s hammer

• sledgehammer, sometimes having one ax edge: maul

• square or cylindrical head made of wood or rubber, hammer with: mallet

• tack driver, magnetized: tack hammer

wrenches and pliers

• adjustable jaws, pliers with: slip-joint pliers, tongue-and-groove pliers

• adjustable jaws, steel wrench with: adjustable wrench, *crescent wrench

• clamping pliers: locking pliers, *Vise-Grips

• English term for wrench: spanner

• L-shaped, hexagonal rod: allen wrench, hex key

• lug nut tightener, loosener: lug wrench

• needle-nosed pliers for manipulating wire: long-nose pliers

• open jaws on one end and closed, toothed ring on the other, wrench with: combination wrench

• oversized nuts, large-mouthed wrench used to turn: spud wrench

• pipe-turning wrench equipped with power-assisting chain: chain wrench, pipe wrench

• plumber’s flat bar with varied openings down its length: faucet spanner

• plumber’s heavy adjustable wrench: monkey wrench, pipe wrench

• ratcheting wrench with variable socket fittings: socket wrench

• screwdriver-like wrench for turning nuts and bolts in tight spaces: nut driver

• toothed rings for tightening or loosening nuts, wrench with: box wrench

• wire-manipulating pliers: lineman’s pliers, electrician’s pliers, long-nose pliers, fence pliers

screwdrivers

• crisscross driving head, screwdriver with: Phillips head screwdriver

• powered screwdriver: screw gun ratcheting screwdriver turned by pushing

• down on handle: return spiral ratchet screwdriver, impact driver

• short screwdriver: *stubby

• S-shaped tool that is cranked for use in tight spaces: offset screwdriver, cranked screwdriver

drill and related tools

• bit-holder: chuck

• borer: auger, trepan, gimlet

• drilling part, variable sized: bit

• hand-cranked drill: eggbeater

• hole enlarger: reamer

• stationary power drill: drill press

2. puppet instrument, pawn, dupe, *stooge.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A device used to do work or perform a task: implement, instrument, utensil. See MACHINE, MEANS. 2. A person used or controlled by others: cat's-paw, dupe, instrument, pawn2, puppet, stooge. See OVER. II verb Slang. To run and control (a motor vehicle): drive, motor, pilot, wheel. See MOVE.