Noun

(en noun)

a (mechanical) device to perform a certain task

a means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective

* 2005 , .

And along with each of these go their images, not the things themselves, — they too have come about by godlike contrivance .

something overly artful or artificial

Noun

(en noun)

(senseid)A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.

Equipment used in a profession, e.g., tools of the trade.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03, author=

, volume=100, issue=2, page=106, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Pixels or Perish , passage=Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.}}

Something to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby

, magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.

(computing) A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.

A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group.

(slang) Penis.

(by extension, slang, pejorative) An obnoxious or uptight person.