: a small straight thin-bladed knife used especially in surgery
Examples of scalpel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Blunt instrument The Supreme Court’s new test, with its implicit suggestion that coercion is found in exposure to materials that go against central tenets of parental religion, is more sledgehammer than scalpel.
—
Stephen L. Carter, Mercury News, 8 July 2025
The Supreme Court’s new test, with its implicit suggestion that coercion is found in exposure to materials that go against central tenets of parental religion, is more sledgehammer than scalpel.
—Stephen L. Carter, Twin Cities, 2 July 2025
Excisional biopsy: In this type of biopsy, a scalpel is used to remove the entire abnormal-looking tumor along with a small section of surrounding normal skin.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 2 July 2025
The good news is that some of the credits would survive the House’s scalpel and none of the changes are retroactive.
—Marie Sapirie, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for scalpel
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Stephen L. Carter, Mercury News, 8 July 2025
The Supreme Court’s new test, with its implicit suggestion that coercion is found in exposure to materials that go against central tenets of parental religion, is more sledgehammer than scalpel.
—Stephen L. Carter, Twin Cities, 2 July 2025
Excisional biopsy: In this type of biopsy, a scalpel is used to remove the entire abnormal-looking tumor along with a small section of surrounding normal skin.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 2 July 2025
The good news is that some of the credits would survive the House’s scalpel and none of the changes are retroactive.
—Marie Sapirie, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for scalpel
Cite this Entry
“Scalpel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scalpel. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scalpel
noun
scal·pel
ˈskal-pəl 
also skal-ˈpel
: a small straight thin-bladed knife used especially in surgery
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share