blade
Americannoun
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the flat cutting part of a sword, knife, etc.
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a sword, rapier, or the like.
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a part of a tool or mechanism which is thin and flat with a tapered edge, used for clearing, wiping, scraping, etc..
the blade of a windshield wiper;
the blade of a bulldozer.
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the arm of a propeller or other similar rotary mechanism, as an electric fan or turbine.
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Botany.
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the leaf of a plant, especially of a grass or cereal.
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the broad part of a leaf, as distinguished from the stalk or petiole.
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the metal part of an ice skate that comes into contact with the ice.
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a thin, flat part of something, as of an oar or a bone.
shoulder blade.
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a prosthetic lower leg, primarily for athletes, ending in a curved strip of flexible carbon fiber that acts as an ankle and foot, allowing running and jumping.
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Phonetics.
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the foremost and most readily flexible portion of the tongue, including the tip and implying the upper and lower surfaces and edges.
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the upper surface of the tongue directly behind the tip, lying beneath the alveolar ridge when the tongue is in a resting position.
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the elongated hind part of a fowl's single comb.
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a swordsman.
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Archaic. a dashing, swaggering, or jaunty young man.
a gay blade from the nearby city.
noun
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the part of a sharp weapon, tool, etc, that forms the cutting edge
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(plural) hand shears used for shearing sheep
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the thin flattish part of various tools, implements, etc, as of a propeller, turbine, etc
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the flattened expanded part of a leaf, sepal, or petal
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the long narrow leaf of a grass or related plant
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the striking surface of a bat, club, stick, or oar
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the metal runner on an ice skate
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archaeol a long thin flake of flint, possibly used as a tool
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the upper part of the tongue lying directly behind the tip
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archaic a dashing or swaggering young man
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short for shoulder blade
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The expanded part of a leaf or petal.
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The leaf of grasses and similar plants.
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A stone tool consisting of a slender, sharp-edged, unserrated flake that is at least twice as long as it is wide. Blade tools were developed late in the stone tool tradition, after core and flake tools, and were probably used especially as knives.
Other Word Forms
- bladed adjective
- bladeless adjective
- multiblade noun
- unblade verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of blade
First recorded before 1000; Middle English blad(e), blaid “leaf, blade (of a plant or sword)”; Old English blæd “blade (of grass or an oar)”; cognate with Dutch blad, Old Norse blath, German Blatt; akin to blow 3
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.
She points to the orange fence on the right hand picture which looks like a handle and the entire white canvas of the left hand painting which resembles the blade.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Researchers believe the crest was brightly colored during the dinosaur's lifetime and arched upward like a curved blade, likely serving as a dramatic display structure.
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
The 2015 release of "Touken Ranbu" has since turned some of its fans into serious admirers of the katana, the name given to the lightweight but extremely sharp Japanese sword with a curved blade.
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
Learning to manipulate the blade with Arutyunyan made Rippon feel as if he truly learned how to skate.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026
Autumn yells as she twirls her sword and stabs the blade into the troll’s knee with perfect anime form.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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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.