tool
n. countablen. an object you hold in your hand to help you do a specific job, like a hammer or a screwdriver. In computing, it can also mean a piece of software that helps you finish a task.
n. a handheld device used to carry out a particular function; by extension, a software application or utility designed to perform specific technical operations.
A hammer is a common tool for driving nails into wood.
The developer used a specialized debugging tool to find the error in the website's code.
While traditional artisans rely on physical tools passed down through generations, modern digital creators must constantly master new software tools to remain competitive in the global market.
From Middle English tool, tol, from Old English tōl (“tool, implement, instrument”, literally “that with which one prepares something”), perhaps borrowed from Old Norse tól, but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Germanic tōlą (“that which is used in preparation, tool”), from Proto-Indo-European dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”), equivalent to taw (“to prepare”) + -le (agent suffix). Cognate with Scots tuil (“tool, implement, instrument, device”), Icelandic tól (“tool”), Faroese tól (“tool, instrument”). Related to Old English tāwian (“to make, prepare, or cultivate”); see taw, and tow ("fibres used for spinning").
Commonly used metaphorically to describe a person who is being used by someone else, or in a derogatory way to describe someone perceived as foolish.