noun · 2 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
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkɹəʊbɪl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈkɹoʊˌbɪl/
1
noun
Meaning 1
A kind of forceps for extracting bullets, etc., from wounds.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: medicine, sciences, surgery
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: crow's bill
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Synonym of bec de corbin (“poleaxe with a modified hammerhead and a spike mounted on the top of the pole”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
Topics: engineering, government, military, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, politics, tools, war, weaponry
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bec de corbin
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”) + bill (“beak of a bird”). Sense 1 (“kind of forceps”) is probably from its appearance, while sense 2 (“type of poleaxe”) is a calque of French bec de corbin (literally “crow or raven's beak”).
Across languages
Translations
1 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Finnish:
kärkipihdit
— kind of forceps for extracting bullets, etc., from wounds