vise

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
: any of various tools with two jaws for holding work that close usually by a screw, lever, or cam
2
: something likened to a vise
economic vise of slow growth and rampant price increasesDavid Milne
viselike adjective

Illustration of vise

Illustration of vise
  • vise 1

vise

2 of 4

verb (1)

vised; vising

transitive verb

: to hold, force, or squeeze with or as if with a vise

visé

3 of 4

verb (2)

vi·​sé ˈvē-ˌzā How to pronounce visé (audio)
vē-ˈzā
viséd or viséed; viséing

visé

4 of 4

noun (2)

: visa

Examples of vise in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
And this is an issue in which Trump has always been sort of caught in a vise. NBC News, 1 Sep. 2024 Other than the brief negotiations in 2011–12 and 2018–19, three successive U.S. administrations have relied on a global pressure campaign to tighten the vise on North Korea while stopping short of instigating war. Frank Aum, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2022
Verb
After vising the company’s Texas headquarters and meeting with executives, analyst Michael Ng says the firm came away from the discussions optimistic that the growing demand for artificial intelligence data centers will help boost Dell stock. Brian Evans, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2024 Look for opportunity in the difficulty instead of vise versa. Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for vise 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vise.' 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

Noun (1)

Middle English vys, vice screw, from Anglo-French vyz, from Latin vitis vine — more at withy

Verb (2)

French, past participle of viser to visa, from visa

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1500, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1602, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1810, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1842, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of vise was in 1500

Dictionary Entries Near vise

Cite this Entry

“Vise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vise. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

vise

noun
ˈvīs
: any of various tools with two jaws for holding work that close usually by a screw or lever
viselike adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on vise

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