scissors

A2
US /ˈsɪzɚz/ UK /ˈsɪzəz/
noun verb intj Freq #6175

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    A tool used for cutting thin material, consisting of two crossing blades attached at a pivot point in such a way that the blades slide across each other when the handles are closed.

    Near-synonym: shears

  2. 2
    noun

    An attacking move conducted by two players; the player without the ball runs from one side of the ball carrier, behind the ball carrier, and receives a pass from the ball carrier on the other side.

    They executed a perfect scissors.

  3. 3
    verb

    Rare form of scissor (“to cut using, or as if using, scissors”).

    She found her in the dining-room with Ann Foster, the little dressmaker, who was endeavouring to scissors through the right side of her underlip with her teeth as proof that the compiling of a list of requisites was no tax to her.

  4. 4
    intj

    Cry of anguish or frustration.

    Say, wouldn’t it put your eye out to get a letter from one of the kiddies with the thumb‐prints of that crest not doing a thing but snuggling down in the wax on the envelope? Oh, scissors!

  5. 5
    noun

    a gymnastic exercise performed on the pommel horse when the gymnast moves his legs as the blades of scissors move

  6. 6
    noun

    a wrestling hold in which you wrap your legs around the opponents body or head and put your feet together and squeeze

  7. 7
    noun

    an edge tool having two crossed pivoting blades

  8. 8
    noun

    A type of defensive maneuver in dogfighting, involving repeatedly turning one's aircraft towards that of the attacker in order to force them to overshoot.

Etymology

From Middle English sisours (attested since 1350–1400), from Old French cisoirs, from Late Latin cīsōria, plural of cīsōrium (“cutting tool”); from Latin word root -cīsus (compare excise) or caesus, past participle of caedō (“to cut”). Partially displaced native Old English sċēara (“scissors, shears”), whence shears. Doublet of chisel. The current spelling, from the 16th century, is due to association with Medieval Latin scissor (“tailor”), from Latin carrying the meaning “carver, cutter”, from scindō (“to split”).

View etymology graph →

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a tool used for cutting... pair of scissorsshears
6 noun · a wrestling hold in which... scissor gripscissor holdscissors gripscissors hold
7 noun · an edge tool having two... pair of scissors
More scissorswitch
Word family
Derived forms probe-scissorsrock-paper-scissorsscissorscissors-and-pastescissors-glassesscissors-tailedscissorsbillscissorstail
Related forms scissorial

Send feedback

Optional — only if you'd like a reply.