tong

1 of 2

noun

ˈtäŋ How to pronounce tong (audio)
ˈtȯŋ
: a secret society or fraternal organization especially of Chinese in the U.S. formerly notorious for gang warfare

tong

2 of 2

verb

tonged; tonging; tongs

transitive verb

: to take, gather, hold, or handle with tongs
tong oysters

intransitive verb

: to use tongs especially in taking or gathering something
tonger
ˈtäŋ-ər How to pronounce tong (audio)
ˈtȯŋ-
noun

Examples of tong in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Next, carefully place the silver items into the container, using tongs if needed to keep from scalding yourself. Darcy Lenz, Southern Living, 21 Nov. 2024 Similar to using tongs to squeeze citrus fruits, cutting cake with floss or dicing avocados with a cooling rack, turkey basters also have some untapped kitchen potential. Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
His business is quite a bit different from that of traditional watermen, who tong the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for wild oysters. Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2020 See all Example Sentences for tong 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Chinese (Guangdong) tòhng, literally, hall

Verb

tongs

First Known Use

Noun

1883, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1868, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of tong was in 1868

Dictionary Entries Near tong

Cite this Entry

“Tong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tong. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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