chopstick

noun

chop·​stick ˈchäp-ˌstik How to pronounce chopstick (audio)
plural chopsticks
: one of a pair of slender sticks (as of wood or plastic) held between the thumb and fingers and used to lift food to the mouth
Never spear food with a chopstick! If you're having trouble picking up your food, a spoon is your plan B.Laura Barry
usually used in plural
To eat rice, both etiquette and practicality dictate that you use chopsticks to pick up a morsel of meat, fish, or whatever …; position it over the rice bowl, allowing its juices or sauce to drip into the rice; eat the morsel; then shovel some rice into your mouth with the chopsticks.Saveur
"… I do get uncomfortable when people use chopsticks for every Asian food. Traditionally, I may use chopsticks when my food is served in a soup bowl with noodles or rice, but we often use forks and spoons for our dishes. …"Darrell Loo, quoted in Feast

Illustration of chopstick

Illustration of chopstick

Examples of chopstick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Then, just as Cecilia did, steam the fish in the microwave on a pair of chopsticks, raised from the surface of the plate. Lucas Sin, Bon Appétit, 20 Mar. 2024 Chinese users assailed Dolce & Gabbana in 2018 for an advertisement featuring a Chinese woman eating Italian food with chopsticks; the fashion brand is still dealing with the repercussions today. Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 12 Mar. 2024 In the style of the Minute to Win It game show, Edgerton’s activity of the same name gets kids doing small challenges in goofy ways, like stacking a set of items using only chopsticks. Beth Lipoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024 At lively Nishiki Market, a five-block-long shopping street with more than 100 restaurants and shops, everything that a Japanese cook could want can be found—seafood, produce, spices and rice varieties, as well as pots, tableware, knives and personalized chopsticks. Laura Manske, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 So pick up your chopsticks and spoon (or in one case, dinosaur-sized rib) and check out these hot spots perched around the Bay. Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 15 Jan. 2024 Independently posable chopsticks permit grasping a nearly limitless variety of objects with a straightforward mechanical design. IEEE Spectrum, 7 Nov. 2023 Inflatable chopstick? — and Elaine Welteroth, who gave us a look at hot fashion of SAG Awards past before kicking things off with Ali Wong wearing a black and white number decorated by what looked like a bunch of artisanal paper snowflakes. Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024 This set comes with Our Place’s pre-seasoned carbon steel wok, wok accessories (like a spatula, steamer, cooking chopsticks, and lid), and a limited edition Year of the Dragon Triple Threat Set (Fly by Jing’s Sichuan Chili Crisp, Zhong Sauce, and Chengdu Crunch). Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chopstick.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Chinese Pidgin English chop fast + English stick

First Known Use

1699, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chopstick was in 1699

Dictionary Entries Near chopstick

Cite this Entry

“Chopstick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chopstick. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chopstick

noun
chop·​stick ˈchäp-ˌstik How to pronounce chopstick (audio)
: one of a pair of slender sticks used chiefly in Asian countries to lift food to the mouth

More from Merriam-Webster on chopstick

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