blade

American  

[bleyd] / bleɪd /

noun

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

• bladed
  adjective
• multiblade
  noun
• bladeless
  adjective
• 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

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

Under current legislation, practising Sikh's have a legal defence for wearing a small, curved blade, known as a Kirpan, close to their body for religious purposes.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

"The works have been in various stages of danger for years and years and years. There's always been a blade above our heads."

From BBC • May 31, 2026

“It’s sort of a neon razor blade story of the American dream — we didn’t fit in anywhere, so we made a place for ourselves where we did fit in,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Since 2022, the Hand Guard technology of the German company Altendorf has used cameras and AI to detect when a hand comes too close to a blade.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

I was next to Togbe on the bench, sharpening the blade of a hoe while he worked on the loose handle of a cutlass.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• knife
• sword