awl
noun
a pointed instrument for piercing small holes in leather, wood, etc.
awl
1 American
[awl]
/ ɔl /
noun
-
awls
plural
A.W.L.
2
American
Or
a.w.l.
abbreviation
awl
British
/ ɔːl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of awl
before 900; Middle English al, eal, aul, Old English al, eal, æl; cognate with Old Norse alr; akin to Middle English ēl, Old English ǣl, Old High German āla ( German Ahle ), Sanskrit ā́rā
Explanation
An awl is a tool with a long, sharp end for making holes in leather or wood. If your uncle is a shoemaker, an awl might be the perfect gift for him. It looks kind of like an ice pick, but an awl is a tool used by shoemakers, carpenters and other craftsmen who need to punch small holes through leather or wood. If your shoes were made by hand, chances are all those little holes where the laces go through were made with the use of an awl.
Vocabulary lists containing awl
Island of the Blue Dolphins
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The Birchbark House
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Out of Darkness
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She also had silver earplugs threaded through with silver hoops, an awl covered in silver—and a companion: a middle-age man laid to rest in the same jar with a fraction of her wealth.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 4, 2023
"Wagner is not a piece of slippery soap which the bureaucrats have got used to shoving all over the place; Wagner is an awl, a stiletto that you cannot hide," Prigozhin said.
From Reuters ● May 28, 2023
With a screwdriver or an awl, poke into the wood; if it goes in more than ⅛ inch, rot has probably begun.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2022
In January, the courts released the awl to Smith’s DNA experts upon agreement between Smith and the state.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2022
There’s nothing to drill with, so Mags offers her awl and Peeta drives it straight into the bark, burying the spike two inches deep.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
The real power rests in a tropical palace at Buitenzorg, outside Batavia, where lives His Excellency Jonkheer A.W.L.
From Time Magazine Archive
Some of the points were shaped into scrapers and awls; others bore a mark where they may have been attached to a shaft and used as spears.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2018
The site became a tourist attraction; thousands of state schoolchildren were bused in on field trips, as workers on the flood plain unearthed delicate ancient tools such as needles and awls.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2017
The Monongahela culture had rich bone tools, such as awls or fish hooks,” Nass said.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 20, 2017
They scrape old layers of varnish and wood with awls, planes and other tools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2015
For example, the Tasmanian archaeological record documents the disappearance of fishing, and of awls, needles, and other bone tools, around 1500 B.C.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
