forceps
Americannoun
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forceps,
plural
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forcipes
plural
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an instrument, as pincers or tongs, for seizing and holding objects, as in surgical operations.
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Anatomy, Zoology. a part or feature resembling a forceps, especially a pair of appendages at the posterior of certain insects.
noun
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a surgical instrument in the form of a pair of pincers, used esp in the delivery of babies
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( as modifier )
a forceps baby
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any pincer-like instrument
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any part or structure of an organism shaped like a forceps
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of forceps
1625–35; < Latin: pair of tongs, pincers, said to be a contraction of *formiceps, equivalent to form ( us ) warm + -i- -i- + -ceps -taker, derivative of capere to take ( cf. prince), i.e., that which takes hot things; compare, however, forpex, forfex tongs, shears, from which forceps may have been formed by folk etymology
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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.
To insert an IUD, a clinician opens the vagina using a speculum and grips the cervix with a type of forceps, which can cause a sudden, sharp pain.
From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2026
She suffered a third-degree tear during a forceps delivery and her first episode of incontinence soon afterwards - but was discharged home without support.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
Never mind all the newborns rolled out and swaddled like Christmas tamales, or the forceps deliveries that resemble tooth extractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
Estimates vary but around 50% of people who have had babies experience some degree of prolapse and the use of forceps or a vacuum during birth increases the risk.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2024
“The danger is not so great as in a high forceps delivery.”
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
