hacksaw

or hack saw

[hak-saw]

noun

a saw for cutting metal, consisting typically of a narrow, fine-toothed blade fixed in a frame.

Nearby words

Origin of hacksaw

First recorded in 1645–55; hack¹ + saw¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hacksaw

They dress in clothing from the flophouse lost-and-found and are groomed with a hacksaw and gravel rake.
Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham|P. J. O’Rourke|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A hacksaw is applied through holes bored at the ends and a cut sawed along against the metal edges.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2|Various
With a hacksaw this is cut off in a sloping direction with an angle to correspond with the slope in the bottom of the dry-dock.
Boys' Book of Model Boats|Raymond Francis Yates
A vise with a bar of metal in it, half cut through and the hacksaw beside it.
Omnilingual|H. Beam Piper

It may then be sawn with a hacksaw, cut with a cold chisel, or filed into plates of the proper shape, as shown.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2|Various
Still one might be nicked with a hacksaw and left to break with the shock when the next log ran down the slide.
The Girl From Keller's|Harold Bindloss

British Dictionary definitions for hacksaw

hacksaw

noun

a handsaw for cutting metal, with a hard-steel blade in a frame under tension

verb -saws, -sawing, -sawed, -sawed or -sawn (-ˌsɔːn)

(tr) to cut with a hacksaw

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 hacksaw

hacksaw

first element from Old Norse höggva "to cut," from PIE *kau- "to hew, strike" (see hew) + saw (n.).