tweezers

[ twee-zerz ]

/ ˈtwi zərz /

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noun (used with a singular or plural verb)

small pincers or nippers for plucking out hairs, extracting splinters, picking up small objects, etc.

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Also tweez·er

[twee-zer] /ˈtwi zər/ .

Origin of tweezers

First recorded in 1645–55; plural of tweezer, equivalent to obsolete tweeze “case of surgical instruments” (aphetic form of earlier etweese, from French étuis, plural of étui, noun derivative of Old French étuier “to keep,” from Latin stūdiāre “to care for”) + -er¹

Words nearby tweezers

tweeny, tweeps, tweet, tweeter, tweeze, tweezers, twelfth, Twelfth Amendment, twelfth cranial nerve, Twelfth Day, twelfth man

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tweezers in a sentence

Much of the content was chit-chatty girl talk about longing for manicures, pedicures, a pair of tweezers and “underwear that fit.”
Is This a Photo of Casey Anthony?|Diane Dimond|January 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
"In a moment you won't see it," declared the doctor, as he adjusted the tweezers, getting a careful grip on the end of the hair.
Frank Merriwell's Races|Burt L. Standish
It's all finicky work with tweezers and magnifying glasses, trying to get everything to fit in that little case.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow
Suitable tweezers may be obtained at the larger hardware stores or of watchmakers.
Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects|C. V. Riley

Throughout Central Africa a pair of tweezers for extracting thorns is an indispensable requisite in the equipment of every native.
The Evolution of Culture|Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
We therefore proceeded with the experiment, and fixed into the object-glass the little animal, who was struggling in our tweezers.
The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 3, March, 1852|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tweezers

tweezers

/ (ˈtwiːzəz) /

pl n

a small pincer-like instrument for handling small objects, plucking out hairs, etcAlso called: pair of tweezers, (esp US) tweezer

Word Origin for tweezers

C17: plural of tweezer (on the model of scissors, etc), from tweeze case of instruments, from French étuis cases (of instruments), from Old French estuier to preserve, from Vulgar Latin studiāre (unattested) to keep, from Latin studēre to care about

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