instrumental

adjective
/ɪnstɹəˈmɛntəl/

Essential or central; of great importance or relevance.

Example

“He was instrumental in conducting the business.”

Other meanings

Serving as an instrument, medium, means, or agency.
Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice).

Related words

instrumentalisation
instrumentalism
instrumentalize
instrumentally
instrumentalness
uninstrumental
instrumental rationality
instrumental version
instrumental width
instrumentality
instrumentive
instrumentalist

Example sentences

“He plans to record an instrumental album.”
Tatoeba · Igider · CC0

Word history

From Medieval Latin "īnstrūmentālis".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “instrumental” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.