chisel
Americannoun
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chisels
plural
-
a wedgelike tool with a cutting edge at the end of the blade, often made of steel, used for cutting or shaping wood, stone, etc.
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Astronomy. Chisel, the constellation Caelum.
verb (used with object)
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chisels,
present (3rd person singular)
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chiseled,
past participle, past
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chiselled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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chiseling,
present participle
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chiselling
present participle (especially British)
-
to cut, shape, or fashion by or as if by carving with a chisel.
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to cheat or swindle (someone).
He chiseled me out of fifty dollars.
-
to get (something) by cheating or trickery.
He chiseled fifty dollars out of me.
noun
verb
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to carve (wood, stone, metal, etc) or form (an engraving, statue, etc) with or as with a chisel
-
slang to cheat or obtain by cheating
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chiselsimple
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chiselssimple
-
have chiseledperfect
-
have chiselledperfect
-
has chiseledperfect
-
has chiselledperfect
-
am chiselingprogressive
-
am chisellingprogressive
-
are chiselingprogressive
-
are chisellingprogressive
-
is chiselingprogressive
-
is chisellingprogressive
-
have been chiselingperfect progressive
-
have been chisellingperfect progressive
-
has been chiselingperfect progressive
-
has been chisellingperfect progressive
Past
-
chiseledsimple
-
chiselledsimple
-
had chiseledperfect
-
had chiselledperfect
-
was chiselingprogressive
-
was chisellingprogressive
-
were chiselingprogressive
-
were chisellingprogressive
-
had been chiselingperfect progressive
-
had been chisellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chisel
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Anglo-French, variant of Old French cisel, from unattested Vulgar Latin cīsellus, diminutive of unattested cīsus, for Latin caesus, past participle of caedere “to cut,” with -ī- generalized from prefixed derivatives; cf. excide
Explanation
When you carve a statue from a block of marble, you use a tool called a chisel to cut out the shape. Chisel is the name of the tool and also the name of the action. A chisel has a flat, sharp end. To carve using a chisel, you hit the back of it with a hammer or another blunt instrument. Chisel can also mean "to cheat." If someone chisels you out of your allowance, they shaved it away from you bit by bit.
Vocabulary lists containing chisel
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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:
Failure is fatal only when the chisel is abandoned and despair prevails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
“CMS is continuing to chisel away at higher spending associated with coding intensity,” says Tricia Neuman, executive director for the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF, a health policy nonprofit.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
Carrying sledge hammers, scientists hiked to the impact site in South Africa to chisel off chunks of rock to understand the crash.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2024
They stooped to cut the right-size stalks at the base with a sudden jab of an asparagus knife, a tool that resembles a fireplace poker with a forked chisel tip instead of a point.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024
Above him loomed a grotesque fat man with a forked yellow beard, holding a wooden mallet and an iron chisel.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Even the chisels -- straight, curved or zigzag, depending on the motif -- are made here.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
One promising option is tungsten carbide, an Earth-abundant material already widely used in industrial machinery, cutting tools, and chisels.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026
But when he has more time, he prefers snorkeling in riverbeds where he chisels into bedrock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
At burials excavated at one site, over 85 iron objects - knives, arrowhead, rings, chisels, axes and swords - were found inside and outside burial urns.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2025
Growing up and learning his trade from his father at Eton, he had used simple hand tools—saws, hammers, chisels, wood planes, and sanding blocks.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
He continues by "mewing," a TikTok trend where people suck in their cheeks and point a finger at their jawline to emphasize their chiseled features.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
“I felt so much pressure every time I go on Instagram and I see these chiseled, really fit, good-looking guys,” says Robinson, a 31-year-old Manhattan resident who designs hospitals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
And yet, though he at first worried he wouldn’t look big enough, Gadd refused to portray Ruben with a chiseled physique conceived for mere aesthetics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
Larry’s the pragmatic choice, but Luke is the romantic one, down to his handsome, chiseled features right out of a supermarket paperback.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
His lips looked chiseled from ice; his flesh was waxen yellow.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
They show chiselled physiques, striking before‑and‑after images and claims that you can look years younger by following a simple routine.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
He was the "full package," Mr Tracey added, "including the chiselled good looks".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
He had a licence to charm on screen, with his sultry voice and suave, chiselled good looks.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2024
Lithe, with abs chiselled from granite and blond in his hair, he looked like WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes.
From BBC ● May 12, 2024
The walls were made of rough-hewn stone blocks chiselled with Greek inscriptions - thousands and thousands of them, like graffiti.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
"Evolution is chiseling a sculpture, not constructing a building," Gokcumen said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Looksmaxxing” has men hammering their jawlines, chiseling their own bone structure like Michelangelo with a front-facing camera.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
By reducing the cost of chiseling, Springut reasons, architects can once again embrace the decorative flourishes of carved stone.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2023
Levit meets the students for three scheduled hours a week, and the students spend up to 30 additional hours per week cutting, carving, chiseling and sanding during BARN’s woodworking studio open hours.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2023
In the dark crypts below Winterfell, a stonemason was chiseling out his father's likeness in granite.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Somewhere in the city, somebody is chiselling away at a statue of the 74-year-old.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
The team experimented with different carving and chiselling techniques and discovered fire was also an effective way to carve out the inside of the boat.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
Typically, I’d work at the face, up against the rock, chiselling the coal out.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 8, 2017
We entered frosty courts by a secret hatchway and waved wooden racquets in majestic arcs, a ceremony akin to polar explorers chiselling out ice caves.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 18, 2016
Truly," he said to himself all at once, "if I were a wise man, I'd begin this day's business by chiselling my own head-stone.
From Sister Dolorosa and Posthumous Fame by James Lane Allen
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