Abstract Research on the development of tool use in children has often emphasized the cognitive bases of this achievement, focusing on the choice of an artifact, but has largely neglected its motor foundations. However, research across diverse fields, from evolutionary anthropology to cognitive neuroscience, converges on the idea that the actions that embody tool use are also critical for understanding its ontogenesis and phylogenesis. In this article, we highlight findings across these fields to show how a deeper examination of the act of tool using can inform developmental accounts and illuminate what makes human tool use unique.