noun · verb · 14 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɪzəl
CMU ARPABET:CH IH1 Z AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
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.
A part of some ploughs, next to the ploughshare, that helps cut into the soil and deal with obstructions such as rocks, roots, and stems.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Holonyms: plough, plow < implement
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Gravel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Coarse flour; bran; the coarser part of bran or flour.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: plural-normally, uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
To use a chisel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: chip
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
To work something with a chisel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
She chiselled a sculpture out of the block of wood.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: chip
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
To barge in on (something); to intrude on (something).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
verb
Meaning 9
To make small changes to (something), bit by bit, resulting in change over time.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, transitive
Examples
Laws that protect the environment are being chiseled away.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: chip away
Antonyms: none provided
10
verb
Meaning 10
To beg or pressure somebody into giving up (something); to haggle excessively; to cheat; to obtain something from (someone) by cheating.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: ambitransitive, informal
Examples
He's managed to chisel a couple dollars from somewhere.
She can always chisel whatever she needs from her father.
She's always either chiseling or groveling, it seems.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
noun
Meaning 11
an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree Late Latin cīsōrium Old French cisoir Proto-Indo-European *h2el-der.? 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.
From Middle English chisel, chesil, from Old English ċeosol, ċeosel, ċysel, ċisel, ċisil (“gravel, sand”), from Proto-West Germanic *kesul (“small stone, pebble”). See also chessom.
Across languages
Translations
184 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
beitel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Albanian:
thadër
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Albanian:
daltë
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Albanian:
plor
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Amharic:
መሮ
(märo)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Arabic:
إِزْمِيل
(ʔizmīl)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Armenian:
դուր
(dur)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Belarusian:
до́лата
(dólata)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Belarusian:
зубі́ла
(zubíla)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Belarusian:
стаме́ска
(stamjéska)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Bulgarian:
длето́
(dletó)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Catalan:
cisell
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Chechen:
урс
(urs)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Chinese Cantonese:
鑿 /凿
(zok6)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Chinese Mandarin:
鑿子 /凿子
(záozi)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Czech:
dláto
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Czech:
sekáč
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Czech:
majzlík
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Danish:
mejsel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Danish:
stemmejern
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Dargwa:
уршури
(uršuri)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Dutch:
beitel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Esperanto:
ĉizilo
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Estonian:
peitel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ewe:
pɛ
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Finnish:
taltta
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
French:
ciseau
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
French:
burin
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Friulian:
cesel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Galician:
cicel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Galician:
escoupro
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Galician:
formón
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Galician:
trincha
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Georgian:
საჭრისი
(sač̣risi)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Georgian:
სატეხი
(saṭexi)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
German:
Meißel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
German:
Stemmeisen
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
German:
Beitel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
German:
Stechbeitel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Greek:
σκαρπέλο
(skarpélo)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ancient Greek:
κολαπτήρ
(kolaptḗr)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ancient Greek:
γλαρίς
(glarís)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Gujarati:
છીણી
(chīṇī)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Hawaiian:
pao
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Hebrew:
אִזְמֵל
(izmel)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Hindi:
छेनी
(chenī)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Hungarian:
véső
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Icelandic:
sporjárn
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ido:
cizelo
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Igbo:
mma-mkpa
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Irish:
gearrthóir
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Italian:
scalpello
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Italian:
cesello
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Japanese:
鑿
(nomi)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Javanese:
pahat
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Old Javanese:
pahat
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Kazakh:
тескіш
(teskış)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Khmer:
ពន្លាក
(pʊənliek)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Korean:
끌
(kkeul)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Central Kurdish:
ئەسکەنە
(eskene)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Kyrgyz:
кескич
(keskic)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Latin:
scalprum
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Latin:
caelum
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Latvian:
kalts
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Lingala:
sizó
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Lithuanian:
káltas
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Macedonian:
длето
(dleto)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Malay:
pahat
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Maltese:
furmatur
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Maltese:
skarpell
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Manx:
gilb
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Māori:
whao
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Mongolian:
цүүц
(cüüc)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Nepali:
छिनो
(chino)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Nepali:
राँबो
(rā̃bo)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Nepali:
रामो
(rāmo)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Northern Sotho:
pêtlô
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Norwegian Bokmål:
meisel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Norwegian Nynorsk:
meitel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Norwegian Nynorsk:
meisel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Occitan:
cisèl
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Church Slavic:
длато
(dlato)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Church Slavic:
ⰴⰾⰰⱅⱁ
(dlato)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Old English:
heardhēaw
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Persian:
اسکنه
(eskene)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Plautdietsch:
Beitel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Polish:
dłuto
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Polish:
przecinak
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Portuguese:
cinzel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Portuguese:
escopro
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Romanian:
daltă
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Russian:
долото́
(dolotó)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Russian:
зуби́ло
(zubílo)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Russian:
стаме́ска
(staméska)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Inari-Sami:
hugimbor
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Scottish Gaelic:
geilb
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Serbo-Croatian:
длето
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Serbo-Croatian:
длијето
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Serbo-Croatian:
dleto
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Serbo-Croatian:
dlijeto
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Sicilian:
scarpeḍḍu
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Slovak:
dláto
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Slovak:
majzlík
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Slovak:
majzel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Slovene:
dleto
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Lower Sorbian:
błośco
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Lower Sorbian:
błotko
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Spanish:
formón
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Spanish:
cincel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Spanish:
escoplo
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Spanish:
piqueta
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Spanish:
zapapico
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Sundanese:
tatah
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Swahili:
patasi
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Swahili:
bobari
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Swedish:
mejsel
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Swedish:
stämjärn
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Tagalog:
pait
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Tagalog:
paningkal
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Tahitian:
tohi
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Telugu:
శానం
(śānaṁ)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Thai:
สิ่ว
(sìu)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Tibetan:
འབུག
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Tibetan:
གཟོང
(gzong)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Turkish:
keski
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Turkish:
makas
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Turkish:
iskarpela
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Turkish:
keçitırnağı
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ottoman Turkish:
كسكی
(keski)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Turkmen:
isgene
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ukrainian:
до́лото
(dóloto)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ukrainian:
зуби́ло
(zubýlo)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Ukrainian:
стаме́ска
(staméska)
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Vietnamese:
cái đục
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Vilamovian:
bǡsuł
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Walloon:
cizea
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Welsh:
cŷn
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Welsh:
gaing
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Woiwurrung:
beum-bean
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Yup'ik:
cupilaq
— tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal
Bulgarian:
дълбая
(dǎlbaja)
— to use a chisel
Bulgarian:
изсичам
(izsičam)
— to use a chisel
Danish:
mejsle
— to use a chisel
Dutch:
beitelen
— to use a chisel
Finnish:
taltata
— to use a chisel
Finnish:
siselöidä
— to use a chisel
French:
ciseler
— to use a chisel
Galician:
cicelar
— to use a chisel
German:
meißeln
— to use a chisel
Hawaiian:
kōhi
— to use a chisel
Hungarian:
vés
— to use a chisel
Hungarian:
cizellál
— to use a chisel
Ido:
cizelagar
— to use a chisel
Italian:
cesellare
— to use a chisel
Maltese:
skarpella
— to use a chisel
Maltese:
skarpellat
— to use a chisel
Māori:
whao
— to use a chisel
Māori:
tohi
— to use a chisel
Norwegian:
meisle
— to use a chisel
Old English:
hēawan
— to use a chisel
Polish:
dłubać dłutem
— to use a chisel
Portuguese:
cinzelar
— to use a chisel
Quechua:
ch'iqanay
— to use a chisel
Rarotongan:
to‘i
— to use a chisel
Sanskrit:
ताष्टि
(tāṣṭi)
— to use a chisel
Spanish:
cincelar
— to use a chisel
Swedish:
mejsla
— to use a chisel
Tahitian:
tohi
— to use a chisel
Telugu:
చెక్కు
(cekku)
— to use a chisel
Vilamovian:
bȧsułn
— to use a chisel
Esperanto:
ĉizi
— to work something with a chisel
Finnish:
taltata
— to work something with a chisel
Finnish:
siselöidä
— to work something with a chisel
Galician:
cicelar
— to work something with a chisel
Hungarian:
kivés
— to work something with a chisel
Māori:
whao
— to work something with a chisel
Old English:
hēawan
— to work something with a chisel
Polish:
cyzelować
— to work something with a chisel
Polish:
wycyzelować
— to work something with a chisel
Portuguese:
cinzelar
— to work something with a chisel
Spanish:
cincelar
— to work something with a chisel
Spanish:
escoplear
— to work something with a chisel
