pincers

Also pinch·ers

[pin-serz]

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

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pincers¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pincers¹

C14: from Old French pinceour, from Old French pincier to _pinch

Example Sentences

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

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

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

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

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I pressed my sleeve against my cut cheek until the throbbing pain spread like red-hot pincers, twisting into the flesh and burrowing deeper.

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