These words denote mechanical and other devices for doing work. Implement is the most general word in this list, and can be applied to any device that is needed or useful in the performance of a task. It is specifically applied to the simple devices of farming and gardening, such as rakes, ploughs, hoes and spades.

Anything operated by hand may properly be called a tool ; one speaks of the tools of carpenters, masons, sculptors, mechanics and other artisans. Implement and tool are often but not invariably interchangeable: gardening implements (or tools ); a plumber’s tools (but not implements ). That part of a machine used directly for cutting, shaping, drilling, etc., is also called a tool . Delicate tools , such as those used by dentists or surgeons, are called instruments . Utensil , originally anything having utility, is now largely restricted to vessels or containers: cooking utensils , the utensils of a religious ceremony.

Implement , and more especially instrument and tool , are commonly used in extended senses to refer to any means by which something is accomplished or abetted.

• A strong military establishment can be an implement of peace if used judiciously; Mathematics is the instrument used by the physical sciences to explore phenomena and record conclusions; Language is an instrument of communication; Good looks and a shrewd press agent were the principal instruments of her success; Among the writer’s tools , pertinacity is at least as important as talent.