Pliers are a hand tool with two handles and a pair of jaws that work like mechanical fingers, letting you grip, bend, twist, or cut things your bare hands couldn't manage. When you squeeze the handles together, the jaws close with surprising force, giving you a powerful grip on nails, wires, or stubborn bolts.

The design is brilliantly simple: two pieces of metal joined at a pivot point, so pressing the handles makes the jaws clamp shut. Different types of pliers have different shaped jaws for different jobs. Needle-nose pliers have long, thin jaws perfect for reaching into tight spaces or bending wire into shapes. Wire cutters have sharp jaws that slice through metal. Regular pliers have flat, textured jaws for gripping.

You'll find pliers in toolboxes, tackle boxes, and craft rooms. An electrician uses them to strip and twist wires. A jeweler uses delicate pliers to shape metal into rings and bracelets. Someone fixing a bicycle might use pliers to tighten a stubborn cable. The word pliers is always plural, like scissors or pants, because the tool has two working parts that work together.