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hacksaw

American  
[hak-saw] / ˈhækˌsɔ /
Or hack saw

noun

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


hacksaw British  
/ ˈhækˌsɔː /

noun

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

"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

verb

  1. (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

Etymology

Origin of hacksaw

First recorded in 1645–55; hack 1 + saw 1

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.

A skeleton crew of editors needed to take a hacksaw through the December issue of Artforum magazine.

From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2023

Journalists at Slate, for example, took a hacksaw to their methodology as early as 2010—at a time when mainstream publications rarely seemed to hacksaw peer-reviewed research.

From Slate • Oct. 24, 2018

You can customize the length with a hacksaw, and you shouldn’t need to drill through it to attach screws because the strapping comes with perforations.

From Washington Post • Sep. 14, 2018

At one point, she picks up a hacksaw, which she uses to separate the hindquarters from the rest of the carcass.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 16, 2017

The staple gun was where the hacksaw was supposed to go.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan