pincers

American  

[pin-serz] / ˈpɪn sərz /

Also pinchers

noun

(usually used with a plural verb)

1. a gripping tool consisting of two pivoted limbs forming a pair of jaws and a pair of handles (usually used withpair of ).

2. Zoology. a grasping organ or pair of organs resembling this, as the claw of a lobster.

---

pincers British  

/ ˈpɪnsəz /

plural noun

1. Also called: pair of pincers.  a gripping tool consisting of two hinged arms with handles at one end and, at the other, curved bevelled jaws that close on the workpiece: used esp for extracting nails

2. the pair or pairs of jointed grasping appendages in lobsters and certain other arthropods

---

pincers Scientific  

/ pĭn′sərz /

1. A jointed grasping claw of certain animals, such as lobsters and scorpions.

---

Etymology

Origin of pincers

1300–50; Middle English pinsers, earlier pynceours, plural of *pinceour < Anglo-French pince ( r ) to pinch + -our -or ²

Example Sentences

No claws, or pincers, but four fingers and a thumb opening and closing slowly, with joints in all the right places.

From BBC

Robot arms tend to be equipped with two- or three-pronged pincers or with suction cups.

From Los Angeles Times

Troops advanced in a pincers movement, attacking from the southwest and northeast, reaching at times the two roads.

From New York Times

As Russian pincers were closing on the city, a presidential aide warned last week that the military could “strategically pull back” if needed.

From Seattle Times

They return with pincers gripping dead young ants to feed the settlement.

From New York Times