: a metal tool with a sharpened edge at one end used to chip, carve, or cut into a solid material (such as wood, stone, or metal)
chiseled or chiselled; chiseling or chiselling ˈchi-zə-liŋ 
ˈchiz-liŋ
1
: to cut or work with or as if with a chisel
2
: to employ shrewd or unfair practices on in order to obtain one's end
also : to obtain by such practices
chisel a job
1
: to work with or as if with a chisel
2
a
: to employ shrewd or unfair practices
b
: to thrust oneself : intrude
chisel in on a racket
Examples of chisel in a Sentence
Verb He chiseled off a corner of the block. Letters were chiseled into a wall.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026 From the big room beyond, where men are working with chisels and planes, wafts a powerful smell of wood glue. —Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026
Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026 The second episode is largely confined to the dark walls which Irons’ next-door prisoner, a cleric known as the Abbé Faria, has spent years trying to painstakingly chisel his way through. —Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chisel
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The young woman who sojourned to Oberlin College, where she was wrongfully accused of poisoning her classmates and beaten half to death, who raised her hands in defense of herself, then went on to grip clay and rock and chisel to re-create visions of justice. —Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026 From the big room beyond, where men are working with chisels and planes, wafts a powerful smell of wood glue. —Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026
Verb
The show brims with stories that once chiseled their way out of one determined Black, Indigenous woman’s heart and hands. —Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026 The second episode is largely confined to the dark walls which Irons’ next-door prisoner, a cleric known as the Abbé Faria, has spent years trying to painstakingly chisel his way through. —Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chisel
Cite this Entry
“Chisel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/chisel. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chisel
1 of 2 noun
chis·el ˈchiz-əl
: a metal tool with a cutting edge at the end of a blade used to shape or chip away a solid material (as stone, wood, or metal)
chisel
2 of 2 verb
chiseled or chiselled; chiseling or chiselling
ˈchiz-(ə-)liŋ
1
: to cut or work with or as if with a chisel
2
: to use unfair or dishonest methods
chiseler
noun
ˈchiz-(ə-)lər
Medical Definition
chisel
noun
chis·el ˈchiz-əl
: a metal tool with a cutting edge at the end of a blade
especially : one used in dentistry (as for cutting or shaping enamel)
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