tongs

English

Tongs used for grasping food.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /tɒŋz/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /tɔŋz/
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /tɑŋz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒŋz, -ɔːŋz

Etymology 1

tong ("tool for manipulating things in a fire") + -s

Noun

tongs pl (plural only)

1. An instrument or tool used for picking things up without touching them with the hands or fingers, consisting of two slats or grips hinged at the end or in the middle, and sometimes including a spring to open the grips.
   • 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:

     There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs; […].

2. (by extension) A large scissors-like two-piece center-hinged forged-iron implement with oval-loop handles and with pointed tips turned inward (in the same plane as and perpendicular to the handles) to facilitate lifting and carrying a block of ice. Often called ice tongs.

Derived terms

• curling tongs
• fire tongs
• grappling tongs
• hammer and tongs
• ice tongs
• lazy tongs
• pipe tongs
• port tongs
• spaghetti tongs

 

Translations

instrument

• Albanian: darë (sq) f
• Arabic: كَلْبَتَان (kalbatān)
• Armenian: աքցան (hy) (akʻcʻan)
• Aromanian: cleashti f
• Azerbaijani: kəlbətin (az)
• Bashkir: ҡыпһыуыр (qıphıwır), (Eastern) ҡыпсыуыр (qıpsıwır)
• Bulgarian: щипци (bg) f pl (štipci)
• Cappadocian Greek: (blacksmith’s) καϊζάρ (kaïzár)
• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 钳 (khîⁿ)

  Mandarin: 鉗子／钳子 (zh) (qiánzi)

• Czech: kleště (cs) f pl
• Danish: tang c
• Dutch: tang (nl)
• Finnish: pihdit (fi) pl
• French: pinces (fr) m pl
• Georgian: მარწუხი (marc̣uxi), მაშები (mašebi)
• German: Zange (de) f, Salatzange f, Nudelzange f, Zuckerzange (de) f
• Greek: λαβίδες (lavídes)

  Ancient: λαβίς f (labís)

• Hebrew: מלקחת f (melkakhat)
• Hindi: चिमटा (hi) m (cimṭā)
• Icelandic: töng f
• Interlingua: tenalia
• Irish: tlú
• Italian: tenaglie (it) f pl, pinzetta f
• Japanese: -挟み (-basami), -箸 (ja) (-bashi); e.g., パンばさみ (panbasami), 火箸 (ひばし, hibashi), トング (tongu)
• Kazakh: қысқаш (qysqaş)
• Khalaj: ambur
• Korean: 집게 (ko) (jipge)
• Kumyk: маша (maşa)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: kêlbetan (ku)

• Latin: forceps f
• Lithuanian: žnyplės f pl
• Luxembourgish: Zaang (lb) f
• Macedonian: клешти f (klešti)
• Maori: pīnohi
• Ottoman Turkish: قیصاج (kısac), ماشه (maşa)
• Persian:

  Dari: پلاس (fa) (palâs)

  Iranian: کلبتین (fa) (kalbateyn)

• Polish: szczypce (pl) pl
• Portuguese: tenaz (pt) f, pinça (pt) f, pegador m
• Romanian: clește (ro) f
• Russian: схва́ты m pl (sxváty), щипцы́ (ru) m pl (ščipcý)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: klěšće pl

• Southern Altai: кыскаш (kïskaš)
• Spanish: pinzas (es) f pl
• Swahili: koleo, makoleo
• Swedish: tång (sv) c, griptång c
• Telugu: pattakara
• Thai: คีม (th) (kiim), แหนบ (th) (nɛ̀ɛp)
• Turkish: maşa (tr), kıskaç (tr), kısaç
• Vietnamese: cái gắp đá
• Volapük: zäp (vo), filazäp (vo)

See also

• forceps
• pair of tongs
• pincers
• pliers
• scissors
• shears
• tong
• tweezers

Etymology 2

Noun

tongs

1. plural of tong (“instrument”)

Etymology 3

Verb

tongs

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of tong

Etymology 4

Noun

tongs

1. plural of tong (“Chinese secret society”)

Anagrams

• Stong, stong