What does tweezers mean?
Word: Tweezers
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Tweezers means a small metal tool with two thin arms joined at one end, used for holding or picking up very small things.
How do you spell tweezers?
Syllables: twee - zers
Tricky part: The buzzing sound in the middle is spelt with a z. Because that sound is often spelt with an s in English, as in nose, many students write tweesers.
Watch out for: tweesers, tweezzers
Memory tip: Tweezers has the same buzzing z that starts zip and zoo.
Tweezers in a sentence
Example 1: The science teacher used tweezers to place the tiny seed on the glass slide.
Example 2: Grandpa keeps a pair of tweezers in his toolbox for picking up small screws.
Example 3: Priya lifted the sticker with tweezers so that her fingers would not smudge it.
Fun Fact
The word grew out of tweeze, an old name for a small case that held a set of tiny tools.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
zeetwers
a) a tool squeezed between finger and thumb to grip things
b) a tool for turning and tightening screws
c) a glass that makes small things look bigger
d) a sharp tool for cutting thread and paper
Show answer
a) a tool squeezed between finger and thumb to grip things. The letters make tweezers, the tool you squeeze to grip something tiny.
Spellacadabra
In which word will the same letter fill both blanks?
a) m_g_c
b) w_nd_w
c) tw_ez_rs
d) c_mp_ss
Show answer
c) tw_ez_rs. Only tweezers takes one letter twice; compass, magic and window each need two different vowels.
Word Champ
Read the statements, checking both facts and spellings, and choose the correct option:
1. Stamp collectors often handle stamps with tweezers. 2. A stapler joins sheets of paper with thin pieces of wire. 3. A sharpner puts a point on a pencil.
a) only 1
b) both 2 and 3
c) all three are true
d) both 1 and 2
Show answer
d) both 1 and 2. Statement 3 spells sharpener wrongly, so only statements 1 and 2 stand.
Word Tally
You get 3 marks for each misspelt word you find in the list. How many marks will you get?
tweezers, magnifier, microscope, specimen, labaratory, beakar
a) 6
b) 12
c) 9
d) 3
Show answer
a) 6. Laboratory and beaker are the two misspelt words, and 2 x 3 = 6.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which job would most likely need tweezers every day?
a) a postman
b) a watch repairer
c) a lifeguard
d) a bus driver
Show answer
b) a watch repairer
2. Which of these words, like tweezers, is used only in the plural to name one object?
a) rulers
b) scissors
c) buttons
d) pencils
Show answer
b) scissors
