Tool

A tool is an <a href="/facts/Physical_object/WhqjK6xo">object</a> that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many <a href="/facts/Tool_use_by_animals/F0RnHLJj">animals use simple tools</a>, only human beings, whose use of <a href="/facts/Stone_tool/JQxItKEm">stone tools</a> dates back hundreds of millennia, have been observed using tools to make other tools.
Early human tools, made of such materials as <a href="/facts/Rock_(geology)/FXCJkmop">stone</a>, <a href="/facts/Bone/kwJaR6IQ">bone</a>, and <a href="/facts/Wood/z13NpHPl">wood</a>, were used for the preparation of <a href="/facts/Food/RgNq6NAK">food</a>, <a href="/facts/Hunting/z1XhJdB2">hunting</a>, the manufacture of <a href="/facts/Weapon/fV9QfoBh">weapons</a>, and the working of materials to produce <a href="/facts/Clothing/5J5RhkYY">clothing</a> and useful <a href="/facts/Cultural_artifact/B5wDYWQH">artifacts</a> and <a href="/facts/Craft/eoP1sKrY">crafts</a> such as <a href="/facts/Pottery/XLcUT1mX">pottery</a>, along with the construction of <a href="/facts/Housing/jWc1UPfK">housing</a>, <a href="/facts/Business/For1e8Nh">businesses</a>, <a href="/facts/Infrastructure/QJvbsSpl">infrastructure</a>, and <a href="/facts/Transport/npstdhvc">transportation</a>. The development of <a href="/facts/Metalworking/eAT0Pvz2">metalworking</a> made additional types of tools possible. Harnessing <a href="/facts/Energy_sources/6RSeWg77">energy sources</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Working_animal/LRENovAW">animal power</a>, <a href="/facts/Wind/Nt0QIu5B">wind</a>, or <a href="/facts/Steam/RDGCdmzT">steam</a>, allowed increasingly complex tools to produce an even larger range of items, with the <a href="/facts/Industrial_Revolution/B6E3Fasm">Industrial Revolution</a> marking an inflection point in the use of tools. The introduction of widespread <a href="/facts/Automation/3YlF2K5q">automation</a> in the 19th and 20th centuries allowed tools to operate with minimal human supervision, further increasing the productivity of <a href="/facts/Work_(human_activity)/UA8TczRb">human labor</a>.
By extension, <a href="/facts/Concept/VWB6yhQp">concepts</a> that support systematic or investigative thought are often referred to as "tools" or "toolkits".

Tool open-in-new

Tool