tongs

American  

[tawngz, tongz] / tɔŋz, tɒŋz /

noun

(usually used with a plural verb)

1. any of various implements consisting of two arms hinged, pivoted, or otherwise fastened together, for seizing, holding, or lifting something (usually used withpair of ).

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tongs British  

/ tɒŋz /

plural noun

1. Also called: pair of tongs. a tool for grasping or lifting, consisting of a hinged, sprung, or pivoted pair of arms or levers, joined at one end

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Etymology

Origin of tongs

see origin at tong ¹

Explanation

Tongs are a tool for picking things up. Large kitchen tongs can be used for flipping burgers on the grill or rescuing ears of corn that have fallen into the coals. Tongs are the tool that you use to grip something and lift it. They are usually jointed near the handle, with two grippers at the other end, so that you can one-handedly grasp objects. You might use tongs to move something hot, like food or burning logs, or to serve food such as salad, sugar cubes, or noodles. The Germanic root means "that which bites."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tongs

I may need to open my emails with metal tongs for the next 48 hours.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

He said that while his Labour and Conservative opponents would be going "hammer and tongs to discredit each other" he would be going "hammer and tongs" for Scotland.

From BBC ● May 23, 2024

Ms. Tapia has been looking for her son, Gustavo Daryl, since he was abducted in 2018 from his food stand, apron on and grill tongs in hand.

From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2024

While muffins are still warm, use tongs to dip each muffin in melted butter and pecan-sugar mixture, or use a pastry brush to brush butter on each muffin before rolling in pecan sugar.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 23, 2024

With the tongs, he picked up the bent iron and examined it.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander