scissors
sciss·ors/ˈsɪzɚz/noun, interjection, verb
scissors is spelled S-C-I-S-S-O-R-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables (sciss·ors). It appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scissors means “A tool used for cutting thin material, consisting of two crossing blades attached at a pivot point in such a way that the blades slide across each…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in scissors?
| Letters | 8: S-C-I-S-S-O-R-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sciss·ors |
| In writing | 3.8 times per million words; the 13,321st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scissors?
Scissors appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scissors?
- UK /ˈsɪzəz/
- US /ˈsɪzɚz/
- Australia /ˈsɪzəz/
Scissors has 2 syllables, split sciss·ors in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-scissors.ogg, En-us-scissors.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scissors
- scissor
- scissorses present, singular, he/she/it
- scissorsing participle, present
- scissorsed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scissors mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tool used for cutting thin material, consisting of two crossing blades attached at a pivot point in such a way that the blades slide across each other when the handles are closed.
Near-synonym: shears
- 2
A type of defensive maneuver in dogfighting, involving repeatedly turning one's aircraft towards that of the attacker in order to force them to overshoot.
- 3
An instance of the above dogfighting maneuver.
- 4
An attacking move conducted by two players; the player without the ball runs from one side of the ball carrier, behind the ball carrier, and receives a pass from the ball carrier on the other side.
They executed a perfect scissors.
- 5
A method of skating with one foot significantly in front of the other.
- 6
An exercise in which the legs are switched back and forth, suggesting the motion of scissors.
- 7
A scissors hold.
- 8
A hand with the index and middle fingers open (a handshape resembling scissors), that beats paper and loses to rock. It beats lizard and loses to Spock in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
- 9
rareplural of scissor
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of scissor
- 2
rareRare form of scissor (“to cut using, or as if using, scissors”).
interjection
- 1
datedCry of anguish or frustration.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scissors in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tool used for cutting:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scissors come from?
From Middle English sisours (attested since 1350–1400), from Old French cisoirs, from Late Latin cīsōria, plural of cīsōrium (“cutting tool”); from Latin word root -cīsus (compare excise) or caesus, past participle of caedō (“to cut”). Partially displaced native Old English sċēara (“scissors, shears”), whence shears. Doublet of chisel. The current spelling, from the 16th century, is due to association with Medieval Latin scissor (“tailor”), from Latin carrying the meaning “carver, cutter”, from scindō (“to split”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).