The Collaborative International Dictionary
Chisel \Chis"el\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chiseled, or Chiselled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Chiseling, or Chiselling.] [Cf. F. ciseler.]
To cut, pare, gouge, or engrave with a chisel; as, to chisel a block of marble into a statue.
To cut close, as in a bargain; to cheat. [Slang]
Wiktionary
alt. (context British English) (present participle of chisel English) n. A piece of work produced using a chisel. vb. (context British English) (present participle of chisel English)
WordNet
See chisel
n. an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
[also: chiselling, chiselled]
v. engage in deceitful behavior; practice trickery or fraud; "Who's chiseling on the side?" [syn: cheat]
deprive somebody of something by deceit; "The con-man beat me out of $50"; "This salesman ripped us off!"; "we were cheated by their clever-sounding scheme"; "They chiseled me out of my money" [syn: cheat, rip off]
carve with a chisel; "chisel the marble"
[also: chiselling, chiselled]
Usage examples of "chiselling".
It appealed to John's baroque taste and prompted memories of the victorious group-effigies erected by the Caudillo: the Crewsy Fixers, with drums and guitar, in highly compressed frozen confectioner's custard -- whether really to be eaten or not was not clear, though the sound of laughing chiselling was coming through at that moment.
She was frowning, as if she had noticed the flaw in the composition, but it was a small frown, a fractional chiselling of lines between her brows.