A vise is a mechanical tool with two jaws that clamp together to hold an object firmly in place while you work on it. One jaw stays fixed while the other moves by turning a handle, squeezing whatever sits between them with tremendous force. Carpenters use vises mounted on workbenches to hold boards steady while sawing or drilling. Metalworkers use vises to grip pieces of steel or iron while filing, welding, or bending them into shape.

The power of a vise comes from simple mechanical advantage: each turn of the handle creates pressure far stronger than human hands alone could manage. A small vise might hold a wooden box steady while you hammer in nails. A massive machinist's vise can grip a metal rod so tightly that you could pound on it with a sledgehammer without it budging an inch.

People also use vise figuratively to describe being trapped in a difficult situation, as in “caught in a vise” or stuck in a vise-like grip.