chopsticks

American  

[chop-stiks] / ˈtʃɒpˌstɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. a harmonically and melodically simple waltz for piano played typically with the forefinger of each hand and sometimes having an accompanying part for a second player.

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chopsticks British  

/ ˈtʃɒpstɪks /

plural noun

1. a pair of thin sticks, of ivory, wood, etc, used as eating utensils by the Chinese, Japanese, and other people of East Asia

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Etymology

Origin of chopsticks

1890–95; perhaps after chopstick from the way the fingers are held

Example Sentences

Dylan Ennis regularly takes his sushi-loving son out to restaurants and said he enjoys people’s reactions to the 4-year-old using chopsticks like a pro.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

The valor comes when she picks her chopsticks up.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana was also the target of such a boycott in 2018, after it posted videos showing a Chinese model using chopsticks clumsily to eat Italian food.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2025

The sushi chain also claimed that the movement seen in Lee’s video “may result from natural elasticity or the pressure of chopsticks when applied to its structure.”

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2024

With a pair of chopsticks, she removed what could be easily removed.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord