pliers

English

A pair of jeweller’s pliers

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈplaɪ.ə(ɹ)z/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)z

Etymology 1

From ply (“to bend”) +‎ -er +‎ -s.

Noun

pliers pl (plural only)

1. A pincer-like gripping tool that multiplies the strength of the user's hand, often used for bending things.

   I need a pair of pliers to get a good grip on that broken screw.

Usage notes

• To make clear the quantity under discussion, the expressions "a pair of pliers" or "(however many) pairs of pliers" can be used.
• "A pliers" is somewhat awkward, though accepted in American English.

Derived terms

• adjustable pliers
• combination pliers
• crimping pliers
• groove-joint pliers
• lineman's pliers
• multigrip pliers
• needlenosed pliers
• needlenose pliers
• pair of pliers
• tongue-and-groove pliers
• water pumpe pliers
• water pump pliers

Descendants

• → Cebuano: playis
• → Tagalog: plais
• → Tok Pisin: plais
• → Yakan: palayes

Translations

gripping tool which multiplies the strength of the user's hand

• Albanian: pincë (sq) f
• Arabic: زَرَّادِيَّة f (zarrādiyya)

  Egyptian Arabic: بنسة f (bénsa), بنز m (benz)

  Hijazi Arabic: زَرَّادِيَّة f (zarrādiyya)

• Armenian: տափակաշուրթ (hy) (tapʻakašurtʻ)
• Bashkir: ҡыпһыуыр (qıphıwır), (Eastern) ҡыпсыуыр (qıpsıwır)
• Belarusian: абцугі́ m pl (abcuhí), шчыпцы́ m pl (ščypcý)
• Bulgarian: пло́ски кле́щи f pl (plóski kléšti), кле́щи (bg) f pl (kléšti)
• Catalan: alicates (ca) f pl
• Cebuano: playis, alikate (dated)
• Chechen: морзах (morzax)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鉗子 / 钳子 (zh) (qiánzi), 鉗 / 钳 (zh) (qián)

• Czech: kleště (cs) f pl
• Danish: tang c
• Dutch: tang (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: pinĉilo
• Estonian: tangid pl (for forcing), näpitsad pl (nippers, pinchers), pihid pl (for holding (over distance), firetongs)
• Finnish: pihdit (fi) pl, tongit (fi) pl
• French: pince (fr) f, pinces (fr) f pl
• Georgian: ბრტყელტუჩა (brṭq̇elṭuča)
• German: Zange (de) f; Kneifzange (de) f
• Greek: πένσα (el) f (pénsa)
• Hebrew: מֶלְקַחַת f (melkákhat)
• Hungarian: fogó (hu)
• Ido: pinco (io), tenalio (io)
• Indonesian: tang (id)
• Ingrian: pihet, pihtelet
• Italian: pinza (it) f, pinze (it) f pl
• Japanese: プライヤー (ja) (puraiyā), ペンチ (ja) (penchi)
• Kazakh: қысқыш (qysqyş), атауыз (atauyz)
• Khalaj: ambur
• Korean: 플라이어 (ko) (peullaieo), 펜치 (ko) (penchi)
• Kyrgyz: аттиш (ky) (attiş)
• Latvian: knaibles pl
• Lithuanian: replės f pl, žnyplės pl
• Macedonian: клешти f pl (klešti)
• Malay: tang (ms)
• Malayalam: ചവണ (ml) (cavaṇa)
• Maltese: tnalja f
• Maori: kūmau
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tang (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: tong f

• Occitan: pinça (oc) f, pinças (oc) f pl, mordassas f pl
• Ottoman Turkish: قارغه بورون (karga burun), قیصاج (kısac)
• Persian: انبردست (fa) (anbordast), انبر (fa) (anbor), انبرک (fa) (anborak)
• Plautdietsch: Pleia m
• Polish: cęgi (pl) pl, cążki pl, kombinerki (pl) pl, szczypce (pl) pl, kleszcze (pl) pl
• Portuguese: alicate (pt) m
• Romanian: clește (ro) m
• Russian: плоскогу́бцы (ru) m pl (ploskogúbcy), пассати́жи (ru) m pl (passatíži), щипцы́ (ru) m pl (ščipcý), кле́щи (ru) m pl (kléšči), куса́чки (ru) f pl (kusáčki)
• Scottish Gaelic: greimire f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кле́ште f pl, клије́ште f pl

  Roman: kléšte (sh) f pl, klijéšte (sh) f pl

• Slovak: kliešte pl
• Slovene: klešče (sl) f pl
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: klěšće pl

• Spanish: alicates (es) m pl, alicate (es) m
• Sranan Tongo: tanga
• Swedish: tång (sv) c
• Tagalog: plais, sagam, bokay-pato, bokaypato, alikate
• Tai Dam: ꪁꪲꪣ
• Tajik: анбӯр (anbür)
• Tarifit: tiɣendin f pl
• Tatar: үрдәкборын (tt) (ürdäkborın)
• Thai: คีม (th) (kiim)
• Tok Pisin: plais
• Turkish: pense (tr), kargaburun
• Ukrainian: щи́пці m pl (ščýpci), клі́щі pl (klíšči)
• Uzbek: ombur (uz), qisqich (uz)
• Venetan: pensa
• Vietnamese: cái kìm, kềm (vi), kìm (vi)
• Welsh: gefel blygu f
• West Frisian: tange c
• Yiddish: קנײַפּער m (knayper)

See also

• pincers

Etymology 2

Noun

pliers

1. plural of plier

Anagrams

• Lisper, Perlis, lisper, perils, pilers, priles, sirple