chisel

[chiz-uh l]

See more synonyms for chisel on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.
chisel plow.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Caelum.

verb (used with object), chis·eled, chis·el·ing or (especially British) chis·elled, chis·el·ling.

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.

verb (used without object), chis·eled, chis·el·ing or (especially British) chis·elled, chis·el·ling.

to work with a chisel.
to trick; cheat.

Origin of chisel

1325–75; Middle English < Anglo-French, variant of Old French cisel < Vulgar Latin *cīsellus, diminutive of *cīsus, for Latin caesus, past participle of caedere to cut, with -ī- generalized from prefixed derivatives; cf. excide

Related formschis·el·like, adjective

chiseled

[chiz-uh ld]

adjective

cut, shaped, etc., with a chisel: chiseled stone.
sharply or clearly shaped; clear-cut: She has finely chiseled features.

Also especially British, chis·elled.

Origin of chiseled

First recorded in 1730–40; chisel + -ed²

Related formsun·chis·eled, adjectiveun·chis·elled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for chiselled

carve, sculpt, hew, sculpture, shape, incise, roughcast

Examples from the Web for chiselled

Contemporary Examples of chiselled

Dr. Christian Jessen, the chiselled face of Embarrassing Bodies, cites a number of reasons.
The Grossest TV Show Ever
Venetia Thompson
October 3, 2010

Historical Examples of chiselled

On the other are chiselled the arms of the family to whom the Tower belongs.
Columba
Prosper Merimee
Morse looked at him with a face cold as chiselled marble and as hard.
Brand Blotters
William MacLeod Raine
The work may be chiselled either in a vertical or a horizontal position.
Woodwork Joints
William Fairham
A more beautiful figure than hers even Skopas himself has not chiselled.
Quo Vadis
Henryk Sienkiewicz
The walls, the floor, the roof were all chiselled as smooth as glass.
Under the Witches' Moon
Nathan Gallizier

British Dictionary definitions for chiselled

chiselled

US chiseled

adjective

carved or formed with or as if with a chisel
clear-cutfinely chiselled features

chisel

noun

1. a hand tool for working wood, consisting of a flat steel blade with a cutting edge attached to a handle of wood, plastic, etc. It is either struck with a mallet or used by hand
2. a similar tool without a handle for working stone or metal

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

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

Word Origin for chisel

C14: via Old French, from Vulgar Latin cīsellus (unattested), from Latin caesus cut, from caedere to cut

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chiselled

chisel

early 14c., from Anglo-French cisel, Old French cisel "chisel," in plural, "scissors, shears" (12c., Modern French ciseau), from Vulgar Latin *cisellum "cutting tool," from Latin caesellum, diminutive of caesus, past participle of caedere "to cut" (see -cide). Related: Chiseled; chiseling.

chisel

c.1500, "to break with a chisel," from chisel (n.). Slang sense of "to cheat, defraud" is first recorded in 1808 as chizzel; origin and connection to the older word are obscure (cf. slang sense of gouge); chiseler in this sense is from 1918. Related: Chiseled; chiseling.

chiseled

adj.

"having sharp outlines," 1821, figurative past participle adjective from chisel (v.).