: a secret society or fraternal organization especially of Chinese in the U.S. formerly notorious for gang warfare
tonged; tonging; tongs
: to take, gather, hold, or handle with tongs
tong oysters
: to use tongs especially in taking or gathering something
Examples of tong in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 June 2024
Remove the cobs with tongs and place them into a bowl or sink filled with ice water.
—Patricia S York, Southern Living, 29 May 2024
Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2020
See all Example Sentences for tong 
Noun
Use tongs to rotate the pieces every 30 seconds until all sides are warm (this usually takes us about 2 full rotations).
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 June 2024
Remove the cobs with tongs and place them into a bowl or sink filled with ice water.
—Patricia S York, Southern Living, 29 May 2024
Verb
His business is quite a bit different from that of traditional watermen, who tong the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for wild oysters.
—Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2020
See all Example Sentences for tong
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tong.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tong
Cite this Entry
“Tong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tong. Accessed 7 Jun. 2024.
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