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

“We talk about ‘every blade of grass’ on defense,” Commodores coach Clark Lea said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Making these parts requires the blade to be “grown” in a vacuum furnace as a single crystal of nickel superalloy, according to Nigel Chiang, an analyst at SemiAnalysis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

The company is even investigating lasers and ultrasound as potentially speedier methods of slicing pizzas than a traditional knife blade.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

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

The blade cuts through the cold of the air.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Campaigners tell the paper that the 2,729 blades entering the country in the first half of the year "could be just the tip of the iceberg".

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

The light design of the rotors also means that if there is an engine failure, the light blades can lose their momentum in rotation quickly, Cress said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Howmet and Berkshire Hathaway’s Precision Castparts are the two biggest players in the market for these parts, which also include blades and vanes for the aerospace and defense sectors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Elon Musk’s plan to manufacture gas turbine blades is just the latest example of SpaceX’s disruptive approach to business.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

“Come on,” he says, slapping me between the shoulder blades.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Related Words

• knife
• sword