Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
instrument of execution

instrument of execution

9.7
A tool used by the state to put a person to death
  • noun
  • NSFW
translation icon : instrumento de ejecución
  • The electric chair was once a common instrument of execution in many U.S. states.

Examples

  • Since 1792, the guillotine served as the official instrument of execution.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The guillotine is a well-known instrument of execution used during the French Revolution.

  • Historically, the noose has been used as an instrument of execution for capital punishment.

Synonyms

chair
vsinstrument of execution
  • NSFW
73 9.9

A seat used to kill a person with electricity

is the broader term for any device designed to execute a condemned person
death chair
vsinstrument of execution
  • NSFW
9.9

A chair used to kill a person with electricity

is a general tool used to carry out lawful executions not only electrocution

Surface Forms

instrument of execution singular
instruments of execution plural

Morphology

instrument + of + execution

The phrase combines 'instrument' (a tool) with 'execution' (capital punishment) using the genitive/of-construction to indicate purpose, so its overall meaning—a tool used to carry out an execution—is directly derivable from the parts. Although somewhat formal, this compositional pattern is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would understand it.

Etymology

Instrument of execution comes from a simple, literal idea: instrument means a tool and execution means 'to put someone to death' by law. So the phrase names the tools used to carry out a death sentence, such as the guillotine or electric chair, and that is why it means 'a device used to carry out a death sentence'.