(bound form) chisel; to bore a hole; to chisel; to dig; (literary) certain; authentic; irrefutable; also pr. [zuo4]

to dig a well

chisel

(rock) drilling

see 枘鑿|枘凿[rui4 zao2]

to scuttle (a ship)

to open an aperture; (extended meaning) to cut a way through; to open up a road

to cut (a canal, tunnel, well etc)

incompatible (abbr. for 方枘圓鑿|方枘圆凿[fang1 rui4 yuan2 zao2]); (literary) compatible (lit. "mortise and tenon")

mortise chisel

to bore a hole; to give a forced interpretation

rock drill

rock quarry

lit. to pierce the wall to steal a light (idiom); fig. to study diligently in the face of hardship

variant of 鑿死鉚子|凿死铆子[zao2 si3 mao3 zi5]

(dialect) stubborn; obstinate; inflexible

see 方枘圓鑿|方枘圆凿[fang1 rui4 yuan2 zao2]

a forced analogy (idiom); to jump to an unwarranted conclusion

(lit.) like a square peg in a round hole (idiom); (fig.) incompatible

established and irrefutable (idiom)

(idiom) to make far-fetched claims; to offer outlandish explanations

(idiom) to speak with conviction