chopstick

noun

chop·​stick ˈchäp-ˌstik 

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

Examples of chopstick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Using chopsticks or a spoon, stir until stringy and viscous. —Megan Zhang, Saveur, 13 Sep. 2023

The noodles are picked up with chopsticks, dipped in the sauce and then eaten, solemnly, with a kind of reverence to their purity. —Yotam Ottolenghi, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023

Previously:Freddie Mercury's beloved piano, Queen song drafts, personal items on display before auction A collection of chopsticks once estimated to fetch 40-60 British pounds had a current bid 1,200 pounds ($1,500) on Wednesday. —Brian Melley, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2023

Use a chopstick or dibber to gently create a small hole, sowing no more than two seeds per block. 3. —Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 28 Feb. 2023

Next, hot glue 12 black chopsticks, evenly spaced, to the center of the metal circle with a good amount of hot glue and let dry. —Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 9 Aug. 2023

New Yorkers with takeout-heavy diets soon won’t have to contend with an overwhelming array of unwanted plastic spoons and chopsticks. —Laura Nahmias, Fortune, 20 June 2023

Give them a drink once every week or two, but only if a chopstick inserted into the soil comes out with no soil sticking to it, says Baldwin. —Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 12 June 2023

Consumers would be asked to later return their reusable food containers, knives, forks and chopsticks either through delivery or logistics partners who come to pick them up or in person via receptacles at participating restaurants. —Katie Deighton, wsj.com, 19 Apr. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Chinese Pidgin English chop fast + English stick

First Known Use

1699, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chopstick

noun

chop·​stick ˈchäp-ˌstik 

: one of a pair of slender sticks used chiefly in Asian countries to lift food to the mouth