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.
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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
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have chiselledperfect
-
has chiseledperfect
-
has chiselledperfect
-
am chiselingprogressive
-
am chisellingprogressive
-
are chiselingprogressive
-
are chisellingprogressive
-
is chiselingprogressive
-
is chisellingprogressive
-
have been chiselingperfect progressive
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have been chisellingperfect progressive
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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
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
Finally, he was able to chisel out the embedded trunk handle to open it, clambering in and driving his Model Y Long Range S.U.V. five miles to the closet supercharging station.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
I’m whacking the chisel with such force now my whole body’s vibrating, the whole world is.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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
"Yes, they are strong but every day is a day that chisels away at their mental and physical health."
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2026
The marks of chisels and other hand tools are prominent across all their surfaces, which appear sleek from a distance, making for an exciting juxtaposition between material and method.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
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
Jon’s work table is an arsenal, there are little saws lying around, little chisels.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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
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
It is an artifact set in concrete, chiseled away to reveal a replica of the Flatiron Building in New York City.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 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 is tall, with chiseled, sculpted, and every-romance-novel-ever adjective for cheekbones.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
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
The caption said crews "carefully chiselled" out the cornered kitty and that it was now "safe and sound".
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2024
His face was chiselled and bronze, his eyes black as basalt, his curly dark hair glistening with oil.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
“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
Seated at one of the workbenches, Joni Bosh is hard at work chiseling along the curved side ribs of her violin-in-progress.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2023
Though scarred and cracked, they were sculpted from years of hammering, chiseling, and fishing, and were twice the size of the foreman's.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
Somewhere in the city, somebody is chiselling away at a statue of the 74-year-old.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
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
He once said of the machines that “each one stamps into paper a permanent trail of imagination through keys, hammers, cloth and dye – a softer version of chiselling words into stone”.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 2, 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
Spirits were high and the mud was deep, but we who were there had the feeling that history was chiselling that night's date into her book of ages.
From "And they thought we wouldn't fight" by Floyd Gibbons
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