Instrumental definition
Was instrumental in solving the crime.
An example of something instrumental is a strong mathematical ability to winning a math bee.
An example of instrumental used as an adjective is in the phrase "instrumental song," which means a song that is made up entirely of musical instruments and has no words.
An example of an instrumental is a part of a song that has all instruments and no lyrics.
Instrumental music.
He was instrumental in conducting the business.
Other Word Forms
Noun
Origin of instrumental
- From Middle English, from Medieval Latin instrumentalis, from instruere (“to build into, set up, construct, furnish, hence "to train"”), from in- (“on”) + struere (“to put together, arrange, pile up, build, construct”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, to strew”).
From Wiktionary