Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

chisel

/ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.96 in modern English

Syllables
chis-el
IPA
/ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A cutting tool used to remove parts of stone, wood or metal by pushing or pounding the back when the sharp edge is against the material. It consists of a slim, oblong block of metal with a sharp wedge or bevel formed on one end and sometimes a handle at the other end; there are hand tool versions (the original type) and versions as bits for power tools.

noun

A part of any of various tools or devices that has an analogous purpose, cutting raw material or a workpiece during the process that the tool or device performs.

noun

A part of any of various tools or devices that has an analogous purpose, cutting raw material or a workpiece during the process that the tool or device performs.

verb

To use a chisel.

Intransitive verb

verb

To work something with a chisel.

Transitive verb

verb

To barge in on (something); to intrude on (something).

Dated; Transitive verb

verb

To make small changes to (something), bit by bit, resulting in change over time.

Transitive verb

verb

To beg or pressure somebody into giving up (something); to haggle excessively; to cheat; to obtain something from (someone) by cheating.

Informal

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Late Latin cīsōrium Old French cisoir Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Old French -el Old French cisel Anglo-Norman chiselbor. Middle English chisel English chisel From Middle English chisel, chesel, from Old Northern French chisel, cisel, from cisoir (with a change in suffix), from Late Latin cīsōrium (“cutting tool”), from Latin caedō (“cut”). Doublet of scissors.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *kh₂eyd-, chisel, cisel, cīsōrium, caedō, ċeosol

Usage

Inflected Forms

chisels (plural) chisels (present, singular) chiseling (US, participle) chiselling (UK, participle) chiseled (US, participle) chiseled (US, past) chiselled (UK, participle) chiselled (UK, past) chesil (alternative) chissel (alternative) chessil (alternative)

Derived Forms

chisellike chiselmouth enchisel chiseler chiseller rechisel

Phrases

bog chisel butt chisel cold chisel cope chisel framing chisel hot chisel set chisel skew chisel

Frequently Paired Words

burin gouge graver ploughshare plowshare moldboard mouldboard coulter

Synonyms

chip chip away cheat rip off

Rhymes With

drizzle sizzle fizzle frizzle grizzle frizzell frizell mizell bizzell grizzell mizzell swizzle

Questions

How do you pronounce chisel?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/.
What does chisel mean?
A cutting tool used to remove parts of stone, wood or metal by pushing or pounding the back when the sharp edge is against the material. It consists of a slim, oblong block of metal with a sharp wedge or bevel formed on one end and sometimes a handle at the other end; there are hand tool versions (the original type) and versions as bits for power tools.
Where does chisel come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce chisel

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “chisel”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “chisel”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “chisel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.