: a small straight thin-bladed knife used especially in surgery
Examples of scalpel in a Sentence
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As the White House took aim at higher education and the scientific research enterprise with its budgetary scalpels, my world was thrown into chaos.
—
Nara Parameswaran, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026
The rope from outside was wrapped in duct tape, packed with pieces of paper covered in synthetic cannabis, more than 100 strips of buprenorphine, about 27 bags of marijuana, wrapping paper, more than 400 cigarettes, two lighters, a scalpel and a cellphone charging cord and plug.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 29 Mar. 2026
Typical choices for novelists are notebooks, pens, and laptops, while conservators use brushes, scalpels, and fine sandpaper.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Büchi approaches classical music not like an embalmer with a corpse but as a surgeon with a patient, taking a scalpel to the vestigial organs.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
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Nara Parameswaran, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026
The rope from outside was wrapped in duct tape, packed with pieces of paper covered in synthetic cannabis, more than 100 strips of buprenorphine, about 27 bags of marijuana, wrapping paper, more than 400 cigarettes, two lighters, a scalpel and a cellphone charging cord and plug.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 29 Mar. 2026
Typical choices for novelists are notebooks, pens, and laptops, while conservators use brushes, scalpels, and fine sandpaper.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Büchi approaches classical music not like an embalmer with a corpse but as a surgeon with a patient, taking a scalpel to the vestigial organs.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scalpel
Cite this Entry
“Scalpel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scalpel. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scalpel
noun
scal·pel
ˈskal-pəl 
also skal-ˈpel
: a small straight thin-bladed knife used especially in surgery
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