port tong

noun

A tong / pair of tongs, used to open wine bottles (especially old bottles of port) with heat stress fracturing. The tongs are designed to be heated red hot, then applied to the neck of the bottle, for which the tongue is shaped to fit around, heating the glass.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounport tong (plural port tongs)

plural port tongs

  1. in pluralA tong / pair of tongs, used to open wine bottles (especially old bottles of port) with heat stress fracturing. The tongs are designed to be heated red hot, then applied to the neck of the bottle, for which the tongue is shaped to fit around, heating the glass.

Origin

From port (“type of wine”) + tong.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

port tong. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/port%20tong

MLA

“port tong.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/port%20tong. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “port tong,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/port%20tong.

Source: port tong on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.