Plural of Scissors

Our Story
The Quick Answer
The word scissors has no plural form.

The Plural of Scissors

Scissors has no plural form. We put pair of or pairs of in front of the word scissors to give it its plural form.

For example:
  • One pair of scissors
  • Two pairs of scissors
  • I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil. (Truman Capote)
    • (Unknown number)
  • When you own a pair of haircutting scissors, you cut your own hair constantly. (Emily Weiss)
    • (One pair of scissors)

Are You Good at Plurals?

Here's a quick test.
Getting ready...

The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.
Type Example of Type Forming the Plural Plural
Most Nouns cat
scythe		 add s cats
scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z bus
dress		 add es buses
dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o mango
zero
tomato		 add either s or es
(There are no rules for this - you have to know.)		 mangoes or mangos
zeros
tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o patio
ratio 		add s patios
ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y story
penny		 change the y to an i and add es stories
pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y storey ()
donkey 		add s storeys
donkeys
Nouns ending f or fe dwarf
knife 		ves and/or s
(There are no rules - you have to know.)		 dwarfs
knives
Exceptions goose
louse 		some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change geese
lice
More exceptions salmon
scissors 		some nouns do not change at all salmon
scissors

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Scissors?

Confusion arises because scissors has no plural form. Unfortunately, there is no clever way of knowing which nouns follow which rules. You have to know.
Another Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from another exercise on plurals, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

Help Us To Improve Grammar Monster

  • Do you disagree with something on this page?
  • Did you spot a typo?
Please tell us using this form.

See Also

Unusual pluralsPlural forming table Quirks with forming plurals Forming the plurals of abbreviations Forming the plurals of compound nouns