What does creaser mean?
A creaser is primarily a craft tool designed to produce a clean, sharp crease in materials such as paper, card, and leather. In bookbinding and print work it is often made from polished bone — the traditional 'bone folder' — or from plastic, and is drawn along a fold to flatten and define it without damaging the surface. Leatherworkers use heated metal creasers to press crisp decorative lines into hides. The word can also denote, less commonly, any person or device that creases something. It derives from 'crease', with the agentive suffix '-er'. Because it belongs mainly to specialist trades, 'creaser' rarely appears in everyday conversation, but within workshops it is a familiar and precise term for an unglamorous implement that quietly gives books, cards, and leather goods their neat, professional finish.
A tool used to make a sharp crease in paper, card, or leather.
"The printer trimmed each sheet and folded it with a bone creaser."
A person or thing that creases something.
"As a professional creaser of fine stationery, she took pride in every flawless fold."
Regular plural, standard for countable nouns.
"The bindery stocked several creasers of different widths."
Before plastic scoring machines, bookbinders relied on a polished piece of cattle bone — the humble creaser — to give every page its razor-sharp fold.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of creaser
'Creaser' is formed from the verb or noun 'crease' plus the agentive suffix '-er'. 'Crease' itself is of uncertain origin but has been linked to Middle English, possibly related to words denoting a ridge or wrinkled line. The tool sense arose in trades like bookbinding and leatherworking, where implements for pressing folds were named for their function.
How creaser is actually used
Mostly a trade term found in crafts such as bookbinding, print finishing, and leatherworking. The tool sense is by far the more frequent today; as an agent noun ('one who creases') it is rare.
Easily confused with creaser
'Crease' is the line or fold itself (or the verb of making it), while 'creaser' is the agent or tool that produces the crease.