English edit

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Etymology edit

brad +‎ awl

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bradawl (plural bradawls)

  1. An awl with a blade similar to a small, straight screwdriver; used for making holes, especially in wood to take screws.
    • 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers 36:
      ‘I wish I wos behind him vith a bradawl,’ muttered the long one.
    • 2016 January 30, Jeff Howell, “Swinging doors: it's not open and shut”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property), page 15:
      For the first adjustment [to a door that keeps swinging open], you might need to remove the screws from the frame, move the hinge slightly, and then make new screw holes with a bradawl and reinsert the screws.