tools of trade
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Equipment or skills necessary for a particular job or activity
Thiết bị hoặc kỹ năng cần thiết cho một công việc hoặc hoạt động cụ thể
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “tools of trade” mean?
Equipment or skills necessary for a particular job or activity Literally: instruments used in a specific occupation
Is “tools of trade” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.