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.
But I’ve also been paying closer attention, which means that I can slow my breathing and gently roll my shoulders down and away from the Dark Vise of the moment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
The Vise Grips, from Austin, showed up on beautifully restored pre-1970s Harleys.
From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2022
Unearned bravado: This can be a tell that someone simply wants to take your money, casting director Dea Vise said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2021
Acting gigs for online content often pay below state minimum wages, said Dea Vise, a casting director.
From The Guardian • Sep. 15, 2017
On the other side of Vise nothing had availed to stay the wrath of the Germans.
From In the Claws of the German Eagle by Williams, Albert Rhys
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.
