Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for dagger

dagger

[ dag-er ]

noun

  1. a short, swordlike weapon with a pointed blade and a handle, used for stabbing.
  2. Also called obelisk. Printing. a mark (†) used especially for references.


verb (used with object)

  1. to stab with or as if with a dagger.
  2. Printing. to mark with a dagger.

dagger

/ ˈdæɡə /

noun

  1. a short stabbing weapon with a pointed blade
  2. Also calledobelisk a character (†) used in printing to indicate a cross reference, esp to a footnote
  3. at daggers drawn
    in a state of open hostility
  4. look daggers
    to glare with hostility; scowl
“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 mark with a dagger
  2. archaic.
    to stab with a dagger
“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
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of dagger1

1350–1400; Middle English, probably alteration of Old French dague, of obscure origin; dag 1
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of dagger1

C14: of uncertain origin
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. look daggers at, to look at angrily, threateningly, or with hate.

More idioms and phrases containing dagger

In addition to the idiom beginning with daggers , also see look daggers .
Discover More

Example Sentences

They each grasp a short dagger, the pugio, in their fists.

From Salon

The end of this season felt like a dagger between the shoulder blades, and for that credit goes to the scrappy Sounders.

Police said the plotters had nicknamed the operation "green and yellow dagger", in reference to the colours of the Brazilian flag.

From BBC

Even the delivered dagger appeared to carry the same deadly weight.

It is a story of neighbours at daggers drawn.

From BBC

Advertisement

Related Words

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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement