blade

American  

[bleyd] / bleɪd /

noun

• blades
  plural

1. the flat cutting part of a sword, knife, etc.

2. a sword, rapier, or the like.

3. 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.

4. the arm of a propeller or other similar rotary mechanism, as an electric fan or turbine.

5. Botany.

   1. the leaf of a plant, especially of a grass or cereal.

   2. the broad part of a leaf, as distinguished from the stalk or petiole.

6. the metal part of an ice skate that comes into contact with the ice.

7. a thin, flat part of something, as of an oar or a bone.

   shoulder blade.

8. 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.

9. Phonetics.

   1. the foremost and most readily flexible portion of the tongue, including the tip and implying the upper and lower surfaces and edges.

   2. the upper surface of the tongue directly behind the tip, lying beneath the alveolar ridge when the tongue is in a resting position.

10. the elongated hind part of a fowl's single comb.

11. a swordsman.

12. Archaic. a dashing, swaggering, or jaunty young man.

    a gay blade from the nearby city.

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blade British  

/ bleɪd /

noun

1. the part of a sharp weapon, tool, etc, that forms the cutting edge

2. (plural) hand shears used for shearing sheep

3. the thin flattish part of various tools, implements, etc, as of a propeller, turbine, etc

4. the flattened expanded part of a leaf, sepal, or petal

5. the long narrow leaf of a grass or related plant

6. the striking surface of a bat, club, stick, or oar

7. the metal runner on an ice skate

8. archaeol a long thin flake of flint, possibly used as a tool

9. the upper part of the tongue lying directly behind the tip

10. archaic a dashing or swaggering young man

11. short for shoulder blade

12. a poetic word for a sword swordsman

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blade Scientific  

/ blād /

1. 1. The expanded part of a leaf or petal.

   2. The leaf of grasses and similar plants.

2. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• multiblade
  noun
• unblade
  verb (used with object)
• bladed
  adjective
• bladeless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• blades
  plural

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

Explanation

A blade is a very sharp metal edge of a tool. A good cooking knife should have its blade sharpened regularly. Knives, swords, and razors have blades, metal edges so fine and thin that they can cut and slice. The shoulder bone is sometimes called a "shoulder blade," and a piece of grass is also a blade. In fact, the original meaning of the Old English blæd was "leaf," and then "something resembling a leaf." In the 14th century, the word was applied to swords, based on their shape — similar to a leaf or blade of grass.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blade blades

Hanging from the rafters, the tip of its blade points down ominously over viewers’ heads, emphasizing both the danger of the weapon and its fragility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

He recalled being thrown "a metre-and-a-half into the air", along with his rowing partner, when the blade of their oar hit a wave head-on.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

I’m pretty sure my tears soaked his shoulder blade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Abrams even has a song called The Knife, where she proclaims she'll live with a blade "in my side", as an act of defiance.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

He glanced across the yard at poor Biddy pecking on something, at Muc trying to find a blade of grass to ease her hunger.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Then I remembered that the ceiling fan has one speed at which it rattles faintly but insistently, so I got out of bed, yanked the chain and sent the blades spinning faster.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Stronger and more ductile intermetallics may support the development of improved turbine blades, aircraft engines, energy systems, defense technologies, and materials designed for use in space.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

Bird remains were found on other samples of the blades, and a witness reported seeing a flock of geese take flight shortly before the crash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

Now Gauff and her next opponent, Karolina Muchova, face off Thursday for a chance to transform their mutually uneasy relationships with the green blades beneath their feet into the biggest grass-court breakthrough of their careers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

But even the mightiest sea creatures were afraid of those huge spinning propeller blades.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• knife
• sword