1300–50; Middle English vis < Old French: screw < Latin vītis vine (whose spiral form gave later sense)
< French, past participle of viser to inspect, check; see visa
If you’re going to be doing a lot of woodworking, you’ll probably need a vise, a tool used to clamp pieces of wood in place while you work on them. The word vise came into English through the French word vis, meaning “screw.” Picture yourself winding a lever that screws the jaws of a vise shut, and you’ll understand what it’s like to operate a vise. Remember to spell the word with an s, as not to confuse it with sound-alike vice, which can refer to a destructive habit that you’d like to break. The two words are unrelated in meaning.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When she contracted Asian flu, the virus paralyzed her with “a vise cluster of migraines.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2025
State Legislatures are caught in a legal vise.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025
It’s no cause for alarm, but it felt as if a vise were being twisted tighter and tighter around my chest.
From Slate • Nov. 26, 2023
After enjoying a strong run where they could keep raising prices to boost their profits, companies are now stuck in a vise.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 27, 2023
It jumped out as Momma said, “Ju,” and I started to run, but her hand caught mine again and became a vise.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
