tweezers
A scientist uses tweezers to carefully place a small specimen on a glass slide.
Definition
- Noun (plural):
- A small tool consisting of two thin, pointed pieces of metal or plastic joined at one end, used for picking up or manipulating small objects, such as hairs, splinters, or electronic components. Tweezers are typically operated by squeezing the handles together to grip an item.
Usage Examples
- (A tool for removing individual hairs.)
- (A tool for handling small, delicate objects.)
- (A tool for extracting small foreign bodies.)
Advanced Usage
- "a pair of tweezers": The standard way to refer to the tool, as it consists of two joined parts.
- I need a pair of tweezers to fix this watch. (The tool as a single unit.)
- "precision tweezers": Tweezers designed for fine, detailed work, often with very sharp tips.
- The surgeon used precision tweezers to suture the wound. (Specialized tweezers for delicate medical tasks.)
Variants and Related Words
- Tweezer (singular, rare): An individual blade or arm of the tool; not commonly used alone.
- One tweezer arm was bent out of shape. (A single component of the tool.)
- Tweezer-like (adj): Resembling or functioning like tweezers.
- The robot arm had tweezer-like grippers. (Having a similar gripping mechanism.)
Synonyms
- Pincers: A similar tool with two arms, often larger and used for grasping or crushing.
- Forceps: A medical instrument with two arms used for grasping or holding, especially in surgery.
- Nippers: Small pliers or cutters, often used for gripping or cutting.
Phrasal Verbs
- Tweeze out: To remove something using tweezers.
- She tweezed out the splinter carefully. (Extracted with the tool.)
- Tweeze off: To pluck or pull off something with tweezers.
- He tweezed off the dead leaf from the plant. (Removed by gripping and pulling.)
Related Idioms
- "Fine as tweezers": Used to describe something extremely thin or precise.
- Her handwriting was as fine as tweezers. (Very delicate and exact.)
- "To handle with tweezers": To treat something with extreme care or delicacy.
- He handled the fragile antique with tweezers. (Managed very cautiously.)
Notes
- Tweezers are always referred to as a plural noun, even when describing a single tool. Use "a pair of tweezers" for singular reference.