What’s the plural of “tongs”?
Tongs are a plural-only noun in English. Because tongs are comprised of parts or pieces, English reflects this by keeping tongs plural only.
What’s the singular of tongs?
Tongs are made up of parts, and are only a plural noun with no singular noun form. To refer to tongs as a singular noun, however, you might say ‘hand me a pair of tongs.’
What are tongs?
Merriam-Webster defines tongs as:
A device used for picking up objects, consisting of two long pieces joined at one end and pressed together at the other end in order to hold an object between them: coal tongs; a pair of tongs.
Plural-only nouns
These nouns are, for the most part, plural-only nouns with no singular noun form. Similar to tongs, these objects and items are made up of parts/pieces:
Plural-only/non-singular nouns. By Gflex on Canva.
Plural-only noun, tongs, used in sentences:
1. He held tongs into the fire.
2. Use tongs to turn to cook the other side.
3. Use tongs to remove the can from the fire.
4. The smith used the tongs to pick up the horseshoe.
5. We were going hammer and tongs there for three hours.
Origin of the word tongs
From etymology online on tongs (n.):
Old English tange, tang “tongs, pincers, foreceps, instrument for holding and lifting,” from Proto-Germanic *tango.
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