: a small straight thin-bladed knife used especially in surgery
Examples of scalpel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
While he was sent by the White House to be a hatchet man, Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, should use a scalpel with care, conducting a real, legitimate probe that seeks ways to save money for taxpayers and improve outcomes for patients.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026
My father founded private hospitals south of Johannesburg, and my mother lectured anatomy, presiding over dissections and preparing meat dishes at home with the same attentive care — removing sinew and fat with a dedicated set of kitchen scalpels.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scalpel
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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
While he was sent by the White House to be a hatchet man, Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, should use a scalpel with care, conducting a real, legitimate probe that seeks ways to save money for taxpayers and improve outcomes for patients.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026
My father founded private hospitals south of Johannesburg, and my mother lectured anatomy, presiding over dissections and preparing meat dishes at home with the same attentive care — removing sinew and fat with a dedicated set of kitchen scalpels.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 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 30 Mar. 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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