vise

or vice

[ vahys ]

/ vaɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vise ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of various devices, usually having two jaws that may be brought together or separated by means of a screw, lever, or the like, used to hold an object firmly while work is being done on it.

verb (used with object), vised, vis·ing.

to hold, press, or squeeze with or as with a vise.

RELATED WORDS

tool, chuck, winch

Nearby words

Origin of vise

1300–50; Middle English vis < Old French: screw < Latin vītis vine (whose spiral form gave later sense)

Related formsvise·like, adjective

visé

[ vee-zey, vee-zey ]

/ ˈvi zeɪ, viˈzeɪ /

noun, verb (used with object), vi·séed, vi·sé·ing.

visa.

Origin of visé

< French, past participle of viser to inspect, check; see visa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vise

Their world is changing—has already changed, really—in the vise of the economy and new technology.
Hollywood vs. Leno|Kim Masters|September 13, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In Figures 220 and 221 is a drawing of a connecting rod drawn, put together as it would be for the lathe, vise or erecting shop.
Mechanical Drawing Self-Taught|Joshua Rose
The cobbler gave a quick whack at the little shoe he held in the vise.
Rose O'Paradise|Grace Miller White
And when this board is all smooth, the carpenter takes it out of the vise and puts in another board.
Here and Now Story Book|Lucy Sprague Mitchell

He leaned his elbows on his knees and squeezed his head in his hands as in a vise.
Crime and Punishment|Fyodor Dostoevsky
It came up only two feet, and this was a kindness, for it lifted the Marie so that they were able to pull her out of the vise.
The Romance of the Colorado River|Frederick S. Dellenbaugh

British Dictionary definitions for vise

vise

/ (vaɪs) /

noun, verb

US a variant spelling of vice 2

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

Word Origin and History for vise

vise

c.1300, "device like a screw or winch for bending a crossbow or catapult," from Old French vis, viz "screw," from Latin vitis "vine, tendril of a vine," literally "that which winds," from root of viere "to bind, twist" (see withy). The meaning "clamping tool with two jaws closed by a screw" is first recorded c.1500.