Tongs are a tool for picking things up. Large kitchen tongs can be used for flipping burgers on the grill or rescuing ears of corn that have fallen into the coals.
Tongs are the tool that you use to grip something and lift it. They are usually jointed near the handle, with two grippers at the other end, so that you can one-handedly grasp objects. You might use tongs to move something hot, like food or burning logs, or to serve food such as salad, sugar cubes, or noodles. The Germanic root means "that which bites."