Definition of "instruct" in English

verb

1. (transitive) To teach by giving instructions.

   • Listen carefully when someone instructs you how to assemble the furniture.
   • 1751, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler, No. 156, 14 September, 1751, in Volume 5, London: J. Payne and J. Bouquet, 1752, p. 177, […] the design of tragedy is to instruct by moving the passions,

2. (transitive) To tell (someone) what they must or should do.

   • Usage note: "instruct" is less forceful than "order", but weightier than "advise"
   • The doctor instructed me to keep my arm immobilised and begin physiotherapy.

3. (transitive) To give (one's own lawyer) legal instructions as to how they should act in relation to a particular issue; thereby formally appointing them as one's own legal representative in relation to it.

   • If you're not careful, I'm going to instruct a solicitor over this.

noun

1. (obsolete) Instruction.

adjective

1. (obsolete) Arranged; furnished; provided.

2. (obsolete) Instructed; taught; enlightened.