vise

/vaɪs/

Other forms: vises

If you’re going to be doing a lot of woodworking, you’ll probably need a vise, a tool used to clamp pieces of wood in place while you work on them.

The word vise came into English through the French word vis, meaning “screw.” Picture yourself winding a lever that screws the jaws of a vise shut, and you’ll understand what it’s like to operate a vise. Remember to spell the word with an s, as not to confuse it with sound-alike vice, which can refer to a destructive habit that you’d like to break. The two words are unrelated in meaning.

Definitions of vise

1. noun

   a holding device attached to a workbench; has two jaws to hold workpiece firmly in place
   synonyms: bench vise

   types:

   machinist's vise, metalworking vise

   a vise with two parallel iron jaws and a wide opening below

   shoulder vise, wood vise, woodworking vise

   a vise with jaws that are padded in order to hold lumber without denting it

   type of:

   holding device

   a device for holding something
2. noun

   something likened to a tool that clamps or holds tightly