chisel
Americannoun
-
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.
-
Astronomy. Chisel, the constellation Caelum.
verb (used with object)
-
chisels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chiseled,
past participle, past
-
chiselled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
chiseling,
present participle
-
chiselling
present participle (especially British)
-
to cut, shape, or fashion by or as if by carving with a chisel.
-
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
-
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
-
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
Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
On a Pedestal: Marble-ous Words for Sculpture
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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
Nonato laid his chisel against the mortar and gingerly began to tap the top of the tool with a hammer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2025
"There were chisel marks in the rock to suggest someone had found another bit and then ran off with it," says Dr Clark.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2024
It is a subtractive process that starts with a solid block, usually stone, which is highly resistant to the sculptor’s chisel.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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
Scientists and roughly 500 volunteers have used chisels, solvents and dental picks to dismantle 10 blocks so far, so who knows what else they might discover after Zed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Every day in prison "chisels away at their mental and physical health," Mr Bennett said, adding: "They are not spies for the British state."
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2026
He saw others who wanted to take a piece of it, who’d come to the metaphorical mountain with chisels in hand.
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2024
Tiny saws, tacks, gouges, carving chisels, fine-gritted sandpapers.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
In the 1990s, as remnants of the Berlin Wall were chiseled into souvenirs, a reunited Germany started assembling a passport-free travel zone with France and its neighbors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Through years of extraordinary political upheaval, the sound engineer at No. 10 Downing Street has served as a chiseled omen of great change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 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
He was tall, muscular, broad shouldered, and distinctly Nordic in his features, with high cheekbones, a chiseled jawline, and cold slate-gray eyes.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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
India's 'Prince' may have chiselled, film star-like good looks, but he will be prepared to fight if the crown slips.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025
He had a licence to charm on screen, with his sultry voice and suave, chiselled good looks.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2024
The many faces of the stone had sharp edges as though they had been newly chiselled.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
“Looksmaxxing” has men hammering their jawlines, chiseling their own bone structure like Michelangelo with a front-facing camera.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Zhong likens this to a sculptor chiseling away at marble until the final form emerges.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2025
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
Disheartened, I made my way out into the workshop and was greeted by the sounds of a hundred hands busily chiseling wood, chipping stone, and hammering metal.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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
However, he said a local architect had "spotted its significance and got permission to save the artwork, spending a day chiselling it off the wall".
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2022
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
In chiselling the tip, the surgeon had removed too much of the lower nose, which left me feeling as though part of my face was missing.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 23, 2015
The face is emaciated, the features large, but so pure and lordly in their natural chiselling, that they must have looked like marble even in their animation.
From The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) by John Ruskin
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.
