scalpel
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- scalpellic adjective
Etymology
Origin of scalpel
1735–45; < Latin scalpellum, diminutive of scalprum tool for scraping or paring (derivative of scalpere to scratch); for formation castellum
Explanation
A scalpel is a special kind of knife used by doctors, particularly surgeons. Scalpels are small, lightweight, and have a fine, sharp blade. Most scalpels used in surgery have extremely sharp, removable blades that can be replaced. When a surgeon uses a scalpel, she holds it using either the "dinner knife" grip, for large incisions, or the "pencil" grip, for smaller cuts. A medical student dissecting an animal also uses a scalpel, and in some cases artists use them for making fine cuts. In Latin, a scalpellum is a "surgical knife," from scalpere, "to carve."
Vocabulary lists containing scalpel
Code Talker
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Salt to the Sea
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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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.
“It’s because governments usually resort to blunt instruments, opting for the bludgeon of sweeping tariffs and subsidies over the scalpel of industrial parks and skills development programs.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
But few legislators could handle a lawmaking scalpel like Burton.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2025
The full decision, published by the ITIA,, external states that Naldi cut the finger of his left hand on a scalpel in his treatment bag on 3 March.
From BBC • Aug. 20, 2024
But the more crucial cuts take a scalpel to its core duo’s addictively poisonous dynamic.
From Salon • May 2, 2024
She put down the scalpel and fell into a long, stunned silence.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
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.
