double-edged sword
Americannoun
-
a sword whose blade has two cutting edges.
This game character wields a wide double-edged sword to slice an enemy in two, armor and all, with brute strength.
-
something whose desirable effects are necessarily accompanied by undesirable ones.
Studying from home is a double-edged sword—you can roll out of bed at 10 a.m. and attend class in your pajamas, but you can skip class with equal ease.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of double-edged sword
First recorded in 1580–90
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.
The double-edged sword of fandom hasn’t stopped Wolfhard or his musically-inclined “Stranger Things” co-stars from pursuing this path.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
A significant chunk of recent growth has been driven by healthcare spending from an aging population, a trend he described as a double-edged sword.
From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026
Strategic ambiguity, if that’s what this is, can be a double-edged sword.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
Popularity on Wall Street is a double-edged sword.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 16, 2026
Thus did the economics of Big Science create a double-edged sword.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
