vise
or vice
- 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.
- to hold, press, or squeeze with or as with a vise.
Origin of vise
visé
- visa.
Origin of visé
Examples from the Web for vise
Contemporary Examples of vise
Their world is changing—has already changed, really—in the vise of the economy and new technology.
Historical Examples of vise
The boards are then placed in a vise or clamp and allowed to remain there over night.
Boys' Book of Model BoatsRaymond Francis Yates
He licked his wide, cruel lips, seizing the girl's arms as in a vise.
In the Orbit of SaturnRoman Frederick Starzl
His long, thin fingers were clutching her clasped hands as with a vise.
The Shadow of a CrimeHall Caine
It seemed to me the most natural thing, when you'd got 'em in the vise, to keep them there.
The Market-PlaceHarold Frederic
A good plan to judge of the proper height is to measure from the jaws of the vise.
Practical Mechanics for BoysJ. S. Zerbe
vise
- US a variant spelling of vice 2
Word Origin and History for 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.