chisel

1 of 2

noun

chis·​el ˈchi-zᵊl 

: a metal tool with a sharpened edge at one end used to chip, carve, or cut into a solid material (such as wood, stone, or metal)

chisel

2 of 2

verb

chiseled or chiselled; chiseling or chiselling ˈchi-zə-liŋ 

ˈchiz-liŋ

transitive verb

1

: to cut or work with or as if with a chisel

2

: to employ shrewd or unfair practices on in order to obtain one's end

also : to obtain by such practices

chisel a job

intransitive verb

1

: to work with or as if with a chisel

2

a

: to employ shrewd or unfair practices

b

: to thrust oneself : intrude

chisel in on a racket

chiseler noun

or chiseller

ˈchi-zə-lər 

ˈchiz-lər

Synonyms

Verb

• beat
• bilk
• bleed
• cheat
• chouse
• con
• cozen
• defraud
• diddle
• do
• do in
• euchre
• fiddle
• fleece
• flimflam
• gaff
• hose [slang]
• hustle
• mulct
• nobble [British slang]
• pluck
• ream
• rip off
• rook
• screw
• shake down
• short
• shortchange
• skin
• skunk
• squeeze
• stick
• stiff
• sting
• sucker
• swindle
• thimblerig
• victimize

Examples of chisel in a Sentence

Verb

He chiseled off a corner of the block.

Letters were chiseled into a wall.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Wind and the cycle of freezing and thawing played a part in the erosional process, but most of the work has been done by the soft chisel of water. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 5 Sep. 2024

Its sparkle comes from the mica exposed by a carver’s chisel. —Ellyn Gaydos, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024

Verb

Every egg there has ever been, is an emblem of survival; a product whittled, chiselled, and crafted by the unthinking forces of natural selection for the purpose of passing genetic lineages forwards in time—days, weeks, months, sometimes years. —Jules Howard, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024

Stone swastikas were chiseled off the façades of buildings, Nazi insignia were taken down from flagpoles, and, in towns and cities across Germany, streets and squares named after Hitler reverted to their previous designations. —Richard J. Evans, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French *chisel, cisel, from Vulgar Latin *cisellum, alteration of caesellum, from Latin caesus, past participle of caedere to cut

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1509, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing chisel

• cold chisel
• firmer chisel

Kids Definition

chisel

1 of 2 noun

chis·​el ˈchiz-əl 

: a metal tool with a cutting edge at the end of a blade used to shape or chip away a solid material (as stone, wood, or metal)

chisel

2 of 2 verb

chiseled or chiselled; chiseling or chiselling

ˈchiz-(ə-)liŋ

1

: to cut or work with or as if with a chisel

2

: to use unfair or dishonest methods

chiseler

ˈchiz-(ə-)lər

noun

Medical Definition

chisel

noun

chis·​el ˈchiz-əl 

: a metal tool with a cutting edge at the end of a blade

especially : one used in dentistry (as for cutting or shaping enamel)