Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense chisels, present participle chiselling, past tense, past participle chiselledregional note: in AM, use chiseling, chiseled
1. countable noun
A chisel is a tool that has a long metal blade with a sharp edge at the end. It is used for cutting and shaping wood and stone.
...a hammer and chisel.
2. verb
If you chisel wood or stone, you cut and shape it using a chisel.
They sit and chisel the stone to size. [VERB noun]
chisel in British English
(ˈtʃɪzəl)
noun
1.
a.
a hand tool for working wood, consisting of a flat steel blade with a cutting edge attached to a handle of wood, plastic, etc. It is either struck with a mallet or used by hand
b.
a similar tool without a handle for working stone or metal
verbWord forms: -els, -elling, -elledWord forms: US-els, -eling or -eled
2.
to carve (wood, stone, metal, etc) or form (an engraving, statue, etc) with or as with a chisel
3. slang
to cheat or obtain by cheating
Word origin
C14: via Old French, from Vulgar Latin cīsellus (unattested), from Latin caesus cut, from caedere to cut
chisel in American English
(ˈtʃɪzəl)
noun
1.
a hand tool with a sharp, often wedge-shaped, blade for cutting or shaping wood, stone, etc., specif., such a tool that is driven with a mallet or hammer
verb intransitive, verb transitiveWord forms: ˈchiseled or ˈchiselled, ˈchiseling or ˈchiselling
2.
to cut or shape with a chisel
3. Informal
a.
to take advantage of by cheating, sponging, etc.
b.
to get (something) in this way
Idioms:
chisel in
Derived forms
chiseler (ˈchiseler)
noun or ˈchiseller
Word origin
NormFr (OFr cisel) < VL *cisellum, for L *caesellum < caesus, pp. of caedere, to cut: see -cide