sword
Use Sword in a sentence
noun
1.
a weapon having various forms but consisting typically of a long, straight or slightly curved blade, sharp-edged on one or both sides, with one end pointed and the other fixed in a hilt or handle.
2.
this weapon as the symbol of military power, punitive justice, authority, etc.: The pen is mightier than the sword.
3.
a cause of death or destruction.
4.
war, combat, slaughter, or violence, especially military force or aggression: to perish by the sword.
5.
(initial capital letter) Military. the code name for one of the five D-Day invasion beaches on France's Normandy coast, assaulted by British forces.
6.
at swords' points, mutually antagonistic or hostile; opposed: Father and son are constantly at swords' point.
7.
cross swords,
a.
to engage in combat; fight.
b.
to disagree violently; argue: The board members crossed swords in the selection of a president.
8.
put to the sword, to slay; execute: The entire population of the town was put to the sword.
00:10
Sword
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English sweord; cognate with Dutch zwaard, German Schwert, Old Norse sverth
before 900; Middle English; Old English sweord; cognate with Dutch zwaard, German Schwert, Old Norse sverth
Related forms
sword·less, adjective
sword·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To sword
Collins
World English Dictionary
sword (sɔːd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a thrusting, striking, or cutting weapon with a long blade having one or two cutting edges, a hilt, and usually a crosspiece or guard |
| 2. | such a weapon worn on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of authority |
| 3. | something resembling a sword, such as the snout of a swordfish |
| 4. | cross swords to argue or fight |
| 5. | the sword |
| a. violence or power, esp military power | |
| b. death; destruction: to put to the sword | |
| [Old English sweord; related to Old Saxon swerd, Old Norse sverth, Old High German swert] | |
| 'swordless | |
| —adj | |
| 'swordlike | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
sword
O.E. sweord, from P.Gmc. *swerdan (cf. O.S., O.Fris. swerd, O.N. sverð, Swed. svärd, M.Du. swaert, Du. zwaard, O.H.G. swert, Ger. Schwert), related to O.H.G. sweran "to hurt," from *swertha-, lit. "the cutting weapon," from PIE base *swer- "to cut." Contrast with plowshare is from the O.T. (e.g.
Isaiah ii.4, Micah iv.3). Swordfish is first attested c.1400; swordplay is O.E. sweordplege. Phrase put (originally do) to the sword "kill, slaughter" is recorded from 1338.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Sword definition
of the Hebrew was pointed, sometimes two-edged, was worn in a sheath, and suspended from the girdle (Ex. 32:27; 1 Sam. 31:4; 1 Chr. 21:27; Ps. 149:6: Prov. 5:4; Ezek. 16:40; 21:3-5). It is a symbol of divine chastisement (Deut. 32:25; Ps. 7:12; 78:62), and of a slanderous tongue (Ps. 57:4; 64:3; Prov. 12:18). The word of God is likened also to a sword (Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17; Rev. 1:16). Gideon's watchword was, "The sword of the Lord" (Judg. 7:20).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
sword
In addition to the idiom beginning with sword, also see at sword's point; cross swords.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Billfishes are named for a prolongation of the upper jaw into a rostrum, or bill, that resembles a sword.
They have long, thin, curving horns that resemble a scimitar sword.
For college presidents, personal charm is a double-edged sword that must be wielded deftly.
Privacy laws are meant to be a shield for the employee, not a sword for the bureaucracies.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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