# vise

Pronunciation: say "VYS" /vaɪs/

## Noun

1. A clamping tool with two jaws, drawn together by a screw, lever, or cam, that holds a workpiece steady during filing or other work. *(US)*
   - Simple: A tool with two jaws that you tighten with a screw to hold something still.
   - _The machinist secured the part in a vise before drilling._
   - _She clamped the wooden dowel in the vise and sawed it cleanly._
3. A predicament that squeezes a person's freedom of choice, leaving little room to maneuver.
   - Simple: A tight spot where you have very few choices and feel trapped.
   - _Rising rents and stagnant wages caught tenants in a vise._
   - _The diplomat found herself in a vise between two warring factions._

## Verb

2. To clamp something tightly, with a vise or in the manner of a vise.
   - Simple: To squeeze and hold something tightly between two surfaces.
   - _The mechanic will vise the bracket before grinding off the rough edge._
   - _Fear vised his chest as the elevator lurched to a stop._

## Noun

4. A screw: a spiral-threaded fastener turned to join or secure pieces. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A turning metal pin with a spiral groove, used to fasten things together.
5. A spiral staircase, ascending in a curving turn rather than a straight flight. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A set of stairs that curve around in a spiral as they go up.
   - _The monks descended the worn stone vise each morning for prayers._
   - _A torch lit the cramped vise leading to the bell chamber._

## Verb

6. Archaic alternative form of visé. *(archaic)* — Alternative form of visé.
   - Simple: An old spelling of visé, meaning to officially stamp or approve a passport. It is not used today.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English vis or vice ("screw"), from Anglo-Norman vyz and Old French vis ("screw"), which came from Latin vītis ("vine"). It is probably related to English withe.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/vise (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).