chisel

American  

[chiz-uhl] / ˈtʃɪz əl /

noun

1. a wedgelike tool with a cutting edge at the end of the blade, often made of steel, used for cutting or shaping wood, stone, etc.

2. chisel plow.

3. Astronomy. Chisel, the constellation Caelum.

---

verb (used with object)

chiseled, chiseling, chiselled, chiselling

1. to cut, shape, or fashion by or as if by carving with a chisel.

2. to cheat or swindle (someone).

   He chiseled me out of fifty dollars.

3. to get (something) by cheating or trickery.

   He chiseled fifty dollars out of me.

verb (used without object)

chiseled, chiseling, chiselled, chiselling

1. to work with a chisel.

2. to trick; cheat.

chisel British  

/ ˈtʃɪzəl /

noun

1. 1. a hand tool for working wood, consisting of a flat steel blade with a cutting edge attached to a handle of wood, plastic, etc. It is either struck with a mallet or used by hand

   2. a similar tool without a handle for working stone or metal

---

verb

1. to carve (wood, stone, metal, etc) or form (an engraving, statue, etc) with or as with a chisel

2. slang to cheat or obtain by cheating

Other Word Forms

• chisel-like adjective
• chisellike adjective

Etymology

Origin of chisel

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Anglo-French, variant of Old French cisel, from unattested Vulgar Latin cīsellus, diminutive of unattested cīsus, for Latin caesus, past participle of caedere “to cut,” with -ī- generalized from prefixed derivatives; cf. excide

Explanation

When you carve a statue from a block of marble, you use a tool called a chisel to cut out the shape. Chisel is the name of the tool and also the name of the action. A chisel has a flat, sharp end. To carve using a chisel, you hit the back of it with a hammer or another blunt instrument. Chisel can also mean "to cheat." If someone chisels you out of your allowance, they shaved it away from you bit by bit.

Example Sentences

KYIV, Ukraine—It was late January, and an elite Ukrainian team grabbed their tools for a special operation critical to their country’s resistance against Russia: an underwater drone, a hammer and a chisel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

“CMS is continuing to chisel away at higher spending associated with coding intensity,” says Tricia Neuman, executive director for the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF, a health policy nonprofit.

From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026

They stooped to cut the right-size stalks at the base with a sudden jab of an asparagus knife, a tool that resembles a fireplace poker with a forked chisel tip instead of a point.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2024

Finally, he was able to chisel out the embedded trunk handle to open it, clambering in and driving his Model Y Long Range S.U.V. five miles to the closet supercharging station.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2024

Now he gathered a heap of soft grass and, with stone and stick for hammer and chisel, tamped it into all the crevices to prevent leakage.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Related Words

• blade
• knife