instrument
French, noun/ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃/
instrument is spelled I-N-S-T-R-U-M-E-N-T (10 letters) and appears 19 times per million words in written French, the 4,050th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Instrument is a French masculine noun meaning “instrument (means or agency for achieving an effect)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Objet permettant d’exécuter une action”.
What does instrument mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculineinstrument (means or agency for achieving an effect)
Near-synonym: outil
- 2
masculineinstrument (person used as a mere tool for achieving a goal)
- 3
masculineellipsis of instrument de musique (“musical instrument”)
instrument à cordes
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Objet permettant d’exécuter une action. 2. Instrument de musique ; appareil servant à produire des sons musicaux. 3. Personne ou chose qui sert à produire quelque effet ou à parvenir à quelque fin. 4. Contrats et actes publics par-devant notaire. Désigne aussi certaines pièces diplomatiques.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of instrument
- instruments plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce instrument?
- /ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃/
- \ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃\
- [ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to instrument
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is instrument in French?
instrument appears 19 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).