Meaning & use
pneumatic drill used for
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
A question phrase asking what job a heavy power tool driven by compressed air is normally used to do.
Grammar: It is a fragment, not a full sentence; in real writing you would say 'What is a pneumatic drill used for?'
Patterns
- what is a pneumatic drill used for
- a pneumatic drill is used for ...ing
- a pneumatic drill is used to ...
What is a pneumatic drill used for on a building site?
A pneumatic drill is used for breaking up roads and concrete.
Workers asked what the pneumatic drill was used for before they rented it.
nouncountable
A heavy handheld power tool that runs on compressed air and pounds a chisel into hard surfaces to break them up.
Grammar: Countable: one pneumatic drill, two pneumatic drills; often shortened to 'breaker' in British English.
Patterns
- use a pneumatic drill on something
- a pneumatic drill breaks up something
The crew used a pneumatic drill to break the old pavement into pieces.
A pneumatic drill is far too heavy and loud for small indoor repairs.
They hired a pneumatic drill and a compressor for the weekend.
Word forms
| plural | pneumatic drills |
|---|
Common combinations
- use a pneumatic drill
- They used a pneumatic drill to open the road surface.
- a pneumatic drill breaks up concrete
- A pneumatic drill breaks up concrete faster than any hand tool.
- the noise of a pneumatic drill
- The noise of a pneumatic drill made conversation impossible.
- hire a pneumatic drill
- We hired a pneumatic drill for the demolition job.
- be used for breaking something up
- This machine is used for breaking up rock.
Synonyms and how they differ
- jackhammer
- The usual American word for the same tool; British speakers more often say 'pneumatic drill' or 'breaker'.
- breaker
- A short British term for a heavy demolition drill; it is less formal than 'pneumatic drill'.
- power drill
- A much lighter electric tool for making holes, not for smashing up concrete, so it does not fit this sense.
Word family
- pneumatic adjective
- Working by means of compressed air, as in pneumatic tools or pneumatic tires.
- pneumatically adverb
- In a way that uses compressed air, e.g. a pneumatically operated door.
Commonly confused: pneumatic drill used for or power drill? pneumatic drill used for or used to?
pneumatic drill used for vs power drill
A power drill makes holes in wood or metal; a pneumatic drill is a heavy tool for breaking up concrete and rock.
pneumatic drill used for vs used to
'Be used to something' means be familiar with it, while 'be used to do something' means it is the purpose of the thing — only the second fits here.
Practice
Which sentence uses the pattern correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Used for' is followed by an -ing form, so 'used for breaking up' is correct. Option 0 uses the base verb, option 2 doubles the marker with 'for to', and option 3 uses a past tense, which cannot follow a preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pneumatic drill used for”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.