What’s the plural of “scissors”?
Often called ‘a pair of scissors,’ scissors is exclusively plural, since it’s made up of parts. Scissors has no singular form. Some nouns in English that consist of pairs, parts or pieces are only referred to in the plural case. Words and things like glasses, spectacles, pants, jeans, trousers and tongs are all only used in the plural, and therefore have no singular noun form.
Scissors: singular or plural?
Scissors is a plural noun with no singular noun form. This is because scissors are a tool made up of parts.
What are scissors?
The word and commonly used household object scissors are defined in the dictionary as, “a cutting instrument having two blades whose cutting edges slide past each other.”
Plural-only nouns
The following are nouns made up of pairs, parts or pieces and are only referred to as a plural:
Examples of scissors used in context
1. This can be done by coin flip or rock-paper-scissors.
2. She picked up a pair of scissors from the windowsill.
3. He told me to get some scissors.
4. Grab your ribbon, a pair of scissors, and let’s get started. Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 11 Sep. 2022
5. Hand me those scissors.
Origin of the word scissors
From etymonline on scissors:
“Pair of shears of medium or small size,” late 14c., sisoures, also cisours, sesours, cisurs, etc., from Old French cisoires (plural) “shears,” from Vulgar Latin *cisoria (plural) “cutting instrument,” ultimately from Latin caedere “to cut”.
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