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
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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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
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