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quirt

American  
[kwurt] / kwɜrt /

noun

  1. a riding whip consisting of a short, stout stock and a lash of braided leather.

verb (used with object)

  1. to strike with a quirt.

quirt British  
/ kwɜːt /

noun

  1. a whip with a leather thong at one end

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to strike with a quirt

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of quirt

1835–45, perhaps < Spanish cuerda cord

Vocabulary lists containing quirt

Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

An avid fox hunter, he showed up sporting jodhpurs and brandishing a quirt.

From New York Times • Mar. 19, 2015

His wrists are steel springs ; his swing is the crack of a quirt.

From Time Magazine Archive

Pattern of all cowboy hell-raisers, he was so tough he rode a catamount, used a rattlesnake as quirt.

From Time Magazine Archive

He slapped his quirt on his leg and we all ran.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Horace rested his elbow on his saddle horn and stirred a fly from his horse’s shoulder with his rawhide quirt.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.