noun · 1 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.
General-American:/ˈtwizəɹz/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈtwiːzəz/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:T W IY1 Z ER0 Z
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A small pincerlike instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling or picking up small objects (such as postage stamps), plucking out (plucking) hairs, pulling out slivers, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: plural, plural-only
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
17th century (1645–55): plural of tweeser (on the model of nippers, pincers, pliers or scissors), from obsolete tweese (“case for small instruments”) (or alternatively, alteration of plural form tweeses), aphetic form of earlier etweese (plural of etwee), from French étuis, plural of étui (“case, box, cover”) (from Old French estui (“container, prison”, noun), derivative of étuier (earlier spelling, estuier (“to shut up, guard, keep, preserve, save, enclose, place in a cover”), probably from Vulgar Latin *estudiāre (“to keep, treat with care”) or *studiāre, from Latin studēre (“to care about”).
Across languages
Translations
98 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
pincetë
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Albanian:
piskatore
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Arabic:
مِلْقَط صَغِير
(milqaṭ ṣaḡīr)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Arabic:
مِلْقَط
(milqaṭ)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Arabic:
ملقاط
(mulʔāṭ)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Arabic:
ملقط
(milgaṭ)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Armenian:
պինցետ
(pincʻet)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Azerbaijani:
maqqaş
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Basque:
pintzak
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Belarusian:
пінцэ́т
(pincét)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Belarusian:
шчыпцы́
(ščypcý)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Bulgarian:
пинсе́та
(pinséta)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Burmese:
ဇာဂနာ
(jaga.na)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Catalan:
pinces
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Catalan:
alicates d'ungles
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Chinese Mandarin:
鑷子 /镊子
(nièzi)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Chinese Mandarin:
眉毛鉗 /眉毛钳
(méimáoqián)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Czech:
pinzeta
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Danish:
pincet
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Dutch:
pincet
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Esperanto:
pinĉileto
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Estonian:
pintsett
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Finnish:
pinsetit
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
French:
pince à épiler
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
French:
pincette
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Georgian:
პინცეტი
(ṗinceṭi)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
German:
Pinzette
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Greek:
λαβίδα
(lavída)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Hebrew:
פִּינְצֶטָה
(pintséta)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Hindi:
चिमटी
(cimṭī)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Hungarian:
csipesz
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Icelandic:
flísatöng
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Icelandic:
plokktöng
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Irish:
pionsúirín
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Italian:
pinzetta
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Japanese:
ピンセット
(pinsetto)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Kazakh:
іскек
(ıskek)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Kazakh:
пинцет
(pinset)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Khmer:
ចន្ទាស
(cɑɑcɑntiəh)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Khmer:
តង្កៀប
(tɑɑtɑngkiəp)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Korean:
핀셋
(pinset)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Korean:
핀세트
(pinseteu)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Northern Kurdish:
mûçink
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Kyrgyz:
пинцет
(pintset)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Kyrgyz:
искек
(iskek)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Lao:
ແຫນບ
(nǣp)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Latin:
volsella
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Latvian:
pincete
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Lithuanian:
pincetas
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Macedonian:
пинце́та
(pincéta)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Māori:
kuku
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Māori:
kopikopi
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Mongolian:
хямсаа
(xjamsaa)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Mongolian:
чимхүүр
(čimxüür)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Mongolian:
ᠬᠢᠮᠰᠠ
(qimsa)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Mongolian:
ᠴᠢᠮᠬᠢᠭᠦᠷ
(čimkigür)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Navajo:
bee atsʼiʼí
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Navajo:
beeʼaʼnizhí
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Navajo:
dághá bee yitsʼihí
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Norwegian Bokmål:
pinsett
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Persian:
موچین
(mučin)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Persian:
موی چینک
(muy činak)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Polish:
pęseta
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Portuguese:
pinça
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Romanian:
pensetă
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Russian:
пинце́т
(pincét)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Russian:
щипцы́
(ščipcý)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Russian:
щи́пчики
(ščípčiki)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Serbo-Croatian:
пинцѐта
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Serbo-Croatian:
pincèta
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Slovak:
pinzeta
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Slovene:
pinceta
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Southern Altai:
пинцет
(pincet)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Southern Altai:
капкыш
(kapkïš)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Southern Altai:
кыскаш
(kïskaš)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Spanish:
pinzas
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Spanish:
tenacillas
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Spanish:
tenazuelas
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Spanish:
pinza [depilatoria]
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Spanish:
pincita [de depilar]
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Swedish:
pincett
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Tagalog:
tiyani
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Tajik:
мӯйчинак
(müyčinak)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Tajik:
пинтсет
(pintset)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Tamil:
இடுக்கி
(iṭukki)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Thai:
แหนบ
(nɛ̀ɛp)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Turkish:
cımbız
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Ottoman Turkish:
جنبس
(cımbıs)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Ukrainian:
пінце́т
(pincét)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Ukrainian:
щи́пці
(ščýpci)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Urdu:
چِمْٹی
(cimṭī)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Uyghur:
قىسقۇچ
(qisquch)
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Uzbek:
pinset
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Uzbek:
qisqich
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Vietnamese:
nhíp
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Welsh:
pliciwr
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Welsh:
plyciwr
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
Welsh:
gefel
— small pincer-like instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling small objects
