awl

a pointed tool for boring holes: The carpenter used an awl to make a hole for the doorknob.

Not to be confused with:

all – the total entity of: All of us are going.; whole number or amount: giving it all away

awl

awl

(ôl)

A pointed tool for making holes, as in wood or leather.

[Middle English al, aul, from Old English æl; akin to German Ahle, awl, and Sanskrit ārā, goad, awl.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

awl

(ɔːl)

(Tools) a pointed hand tool with a fluted blade used for piercing wood, leather, etc. See also bradawl

[Old English ǣl; related to Old Norse alr, Old High German āla, Dutch aal, Sanskrit ārā]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

awl

(ɔl)

n.

a pointed instrument for piercing small holes in leather, wood, etc.

[before 900; Middle English al, Old English al, eal, æl, c. Old Norse alr]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

awl - a pointed tool for marking surfaces or for punching small holes

bradawl, pricker - an awl for making small holes for brads or small screws

haft, helve - the handle of a weapon or tool

hand tool - a tool used with workers' hands

point - sharp end; "he stuck the point of the knife into a tree"; "he broke the point of his pencil"

scratch awl, scriber, scribe - a sharp-pointed awl for marking wood or metal to be cut

Translations

Ahle Ort

alesna lesna lezna

naskali

alène alêne

šilo

ár

šilo

syl

awl

[ɔːl] N → lezna f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

awl

n → Ahle f, → Pfriem m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

awl

[ɔːl] n → punteruolo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Others will upheave the blacksmith's hammer, or drive the plane over the carpenter's bench, or take the lapstone and the awl and learn the trade of shoemaking.

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And not only externally was all in order, but had it pleased the commander in chief to look under the uniforms he would have found on every man a clean shirt, and in every knapsack the appointed number of articles, "awl, soap, and all," as the soldiers say.

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I desired the queen's woman to save for me the combings of her majesty's hair, whereof in time I got a good quantity; and consulting with my friend the cabinet-maker, who had received general orders to do little jobs for me, I directed him to make two chair-frames, no larger than those I had in my box, and to bore little holes with a fine awl, round those parts where I designed the backs and seats; through these holes I wove the strongest hairs I could pick out, just after the manner of cane chairs in England.

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He said in reply that they spoke the truth in every respect except as to the dagger, for it was not a dagger, nor little, but a burnished poniard sharper than an awl."

View in context

Some of these people, more provident and industrious than the rest, lay up a stock of dried salmon, and other fish, for winter: with these, they were ready to traffic with the travellers for any objects of utility in Indian life; giving a large quantity in exchange for an awl, a knife, or a fish-hook.

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Stuart urged him to accompany them as guide, promising to reward him with a pistol with powder and ball, a knife, an awl, some blue beads, a blanket, and a looking-glass.

View in context

He was like one of those unreasoning but still highly useful, multum in parvo, Sheffield contrivances, assuming the exterior -- though a little swelled --of a common pocket knife; but containing, not only blades of various sizes, but also screw-drivers, cork-screws, tweezers, awls, pens, rulers, nail-filers, counter-sinkers.

View in context

Audience members at AWL were polled as to what they believe companies should focus on -- gender and generation came top.

Arab World Luxury 2019 focuses on diversity in retail

This purpose-built technology, developed by Red Piranha, is explicitly designed to undertake endpoint AWL managed from a network gateway appliance at scale.

Red Piranha Announces Industry First, Agentless, Application Whitelisting Technology

Stating that the polling staff was working sluggishly, AWL chief Sheikh Rashid demanded that they should be directed to hasten the electoral process.

PML-N's polling deadline extension request rejected

We aimed to investigate the trachea movement, the ventilation as well as the Rua changes in altered IAP using CO[sub]2 pneumoperitoneum and abdominal wall lifting (AWL) in pigs in order to determine the relative contributions of the tracheal traction effect and the lung volume to the UA collapsibility.

Effects of Altered Intra-abdominal Pressure on the Upper Airway Collapsibility in a Porcine Model