chiseling

Verb

chisel (third-person singular simple present chisels, present participle (US) chiseling or (UK) chiselling, simple past and past participle (US) chiseled or (UK) chiselled)

1. (intransitive) To use a chisel.

   Synonyms:

   chip

2. (transitive) To work something with a chisel.
   • She chiselled a sculpture out of the block of wood.

   Synonyms:

   chip

3. (dated, transitive) To barge in on (something); to intrude on (something).
4. (figuratively, transitive) To make small changes to (something), bit by bit, resulting in change over time.
   • Laws that protect the environment are being chiseled away.

   Synonyms:

   chip away

5. (ambitransitive, informal) To beg or pressure somebody into giving up (something); to haggle excessively; to cheat; to obtain something from (someone) by cheating.
   • He's managed to chisel a couple dollars from somewhere.

See all 10 meanings of chisel

Noun

chiselling (plural chisellings)

1. A piece of work produced using a chisel.
   • We are justified in considering Parkes as our own; for, here he served his time; here he received instructions in modelling from Sherwin, the pupil of Smyth, whose chisellings and figures adorn so many of our public buildings […]1843, The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy