Tweezes

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Using a pair of pincers or forceps to grasp, pull, or pluck items like hair or splinters
2. Executing precise movements with a handheld tool designed for gripping small objects
3. Manipulating small items with a tool for corrective grooming or for crafting delicate work

Etymology: "Tweezes" is the third-person singular present form of "tweeze", a verb meaning to pluck or pinch with tweezers. The verb is a back-formation, created by treating the noun "tweezers" as though it were a plural of a shorter singular, the way people sometimes reason backwards from "pea" and "peas" or "pease" and "peas". Here "tweezer" was produced first, and speakers then formed "tweeze" from it. "Tweezers" itself came into English from a Middle English word for a case or pair of cases, related to the French "étui", a small container for instruments or needles. The name reflects the original sense: a small pair of implements kept together in a case. The tool shared a name with the case that held it, and only later did the tool's shape become the main meaning.

Synonyms: plucks, pinches, picks, extracts, pulls

Antonyms: inserts, pushes, releases, lets go, drops