Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun plural A kind of small pinchers with long jaws, -- used for bending or cutting metal rods or wire, for handling small objects such as the parts of a watch, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A gripping tool that multiplies the strength of the user's hand
  • noun Plural form of plier.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a gripping hand tool with two hinged arms and (usually) serrated jaws

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From ply (“to bend”) +‎ -ers, plural of -er.

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Examples

  • Then I had to wait while in extreme pain in the ER for two hours before they got to me (gave me a cup of ice while I was waiting which hurt even worse) whereupon the doc grabbed some pliers from the closet, clipped the hook and pushed it through the thumb and out the other side after giving me a shot in the thumb.

    When It's In Past The Barb 2009

  • Then I had to wait while in extreme pain in the ER for two hours before they got to me (gave me a cup of ice while I was waiting which hurt even worse) whereupon the doc grabbed some pliers from the closet, clipped the hook and pushed it through the thumb and out the other side after giving me a shot in the thumb.

    When It's In Past The Barb 2009

  • ( "Here, he who has a piece of wire and a pair of pliers is a mechanic!").

    A Mexican travel tool kit from the Sierra Madre Mechanic 2007

  • ( "Here, he who has a piece of wire and a pair of pliers is a mechanic!").

    A Mexican travel tool kit from the Sierra Madre Mechanic 2007

  • Tired: Accessing anything but the pliers is a serious manicure hazard.

    Test: 1080p Projectors for Less, Pared-Down Multitools, VHS-to-DVD Converters 2008

  • KING: But he also said it doesn't mean, even if it's her hair on the pliers, that it doesn't mean the pliers was the weapon or her hair was involved in the murder, right?

    CNN Transcript Nov 3, 2003 2003

  • Clutched in the mouth of the pliers was a bloody tooth.

    Dancing in the Dark Kaminsky, Stuart 1996

  • Redford indicated 'pliers' and its ideograph with his fingertip.

    The Speaker Of Mandarin Rendell, Ruth, 1930- 1983

  • Being sure that the weaver is damp and pliable, with fingers, or "pliers," bend up the stakes close to the weaving, at right angles with the base, and continue weaving until the basket is four inches deep.

    Construction Work for Rural and Elementary Schools Virginia McGaw

  • Other items needed, such as pliers, electric tape, a PICAXE micro controller and a soldering iron can be found at any hardware store.

    DailyTech Main News Feed 2010

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