chisel
/ˈtʃɪz(ə)l
/noun
A long-bladed hand tool with a bevelled cutting edge and a handle which is struck with a hammer or mallet, used to cut or shape wood, stone, or metal: cut away the tiles with a broad-bladed steel chisel...
- They would also have used tools such as planes, axes, adzes, draw knives, wedges, knives, chisels, hammers, mallets, awls, gouges, and spoon augers (a type of drill).
- This type of leather craft involves hand tools like a chisel and hammer to create intricate designs.
- Carpenters had mallets, hammers, drills, chisels, scrapers, planes, and copper saws at their disposal.
verb (chisels, chiselling, chiselled; US chisels, chiseling, chiseled) [with object]
1Cut or shape (something) with a chisel: chisel a hole through the brickwork...
- Way back in the early days of the last century it was chiselled into shape in Pairc Mor Wood or Garrdha Chill.
- Two huge standing Buddhas were chiselled into the cliff more than 1,500 years ago in the central Bamiyan Valley on the ancient Silk Route linking Europe and Central Asia.
- Then he chips and chisels the block, carving out the small figurines.
2 informal, chiefly North American Cheat or swindle (someone) out of something: he’s chiselled me out of my dues...
- On our job the pay rate for new construction was significantly higher than for repairs, so the company chiseled us by classifying everything as repairs.
- Do you think you can chisel me out of a fortune and then prance over here and try me on like a secondhand suit?
- Remember, if you to try to chisel me here I'm gonna slice you up.
Derivatives
chiseller
/ noun ...- It's chiselers and cheats and the whole thing makes me sick.
- Then it was placed before the court to decide who should support the little chiseller, or the Scandinavian equivalent.
- Well the problem with the minimum wage and Mr Howard is that Mr Howard is the chief chiseller.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old Northern French, based on Latin cis- (as in late Latin cisorium), variant of caes-, stem of caedere 'to cut'. Compare with scissors.
scissors from Late Middle English:
Scissors is from Old French cisoires, from late Latin cisoria, the plural of cisorium ‘cutting instrument’. The prefix cis- here is a variant of caes-, from caedere ‘to cut’, a variant also found in chisel (Late Middle English). The spelling with sc- occurred in the 16th century by association with the Latin sciss- from scinder ‘to cut’.
Rhymes
- keelhaul
- keelie
- Keeling Islands
- keelless
- keelson
- Keelung
- keema
- Keemun
- keen
- Keene, Charles Samuel
- keener
- keen-eyed
- keenly
- keenness
- keen sabe
- keen-witted
- keep
- keepable
- keep a check on
- keep a civil tongue in one's head
- keep an account of
- keep an eye on
- keep an eye out (or open)
- keep a (or the) lid on
- keep a tight rein on