plier
plier Lexical Profile
plier Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A hand tool with two pivoted levers and serrated jaws used for gripping, bending, or cutting wire and small objects (usually used in the plural 'pliers' or attributively in compounds).
"The electrician reached into his pouch for a needle-nose plier set to bend the copper wire."
A person who plies a trade, craft, or regular route, or who works diligently at a task.
"Every morning, the street was filled with peddlers and pliers of various traditional crafts."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the gripping tool, the word is almost exclusively used in the plural form 'pliers' or 'a pair of pliers', though the singular 'plier' appears as an attributive modifier in compound names (such as 'needle-nose plier').
• Rhymes for plier
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived in the late 16th century from the obsolete English verb 'ply' (meaning to bend), from Old French 'plier' and ultimately Latin 'plicare' (to fold).