chopstick

noun

chop·​stick ˈchäp-ˌstik 

plural chopsticks

: one of a pair of slender sticks (as of wood or plastic) held between the thumb and fingers and used to lift food to the mouth

Never spear food with a chopstick! If you're having trouble picking up your food, a spoon is your plan B.

—Laura Barry

—usually used in plural

To eat rice, both etiquette and practicality dictate that you use chopsticks to pick up a morsel of meat, fish, or whatever …; position it over the rice bowl, allowing its juices or sauce to drip into the rice; eat the morsel; then shovel some rice into your mouth with the chopsticks.

—Saveur

"… I do get uncomfortable when people use chopsticks for every Asian food. Traditionally, I may use chopsticks when my food is served in a soup bowl with noodles or rice, but we often use forks and spoons for our dishes. …"

—Darrell Loo, quoted in Feast

Illustration of chopstick

Examples of chopstick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And for optimal slurping, these are the best chopsticks. —Melissa Kirsch, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025

The tape measure, scissors, some rubber bands, chopsticks, pliers, a spare charging cord, the sewing kit, matches, that knife that doesn’t match the silverware. —Tim Graham, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025

The Super Heavy booster carried out a return burn and made a powered descent to the launch tower with the stage being captured by the giant steel 'chopsticks' six minutes and 55 seconds into the flight. —David Szondy, New Atlas, 16 Jan. 2025

Like the first-stage Super Heavy booster, Ship is also designed for a return landing at the vehicle's launch tower — with the ability to be caught by the same chopstick arms used to grab Super Heavy last month. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Chinese Pidgin English chop fast + English stick

First Known Use

1699, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chopstick

noun

chop·​stick ˈchäp-ˌstik 

: one of a pair of slender sticks used chiefly in Asian countries to lift food to the mouth