quarterstaff
Americannoun
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a former English weapon consisting of a stout pole 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) long, tipped with iron.
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exercise or fighting with this weapon.
noun
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a stout iron-tipped wooden staff about 6ft long, formerly used in England as a weapon
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the use of such a staff in fighting, sport, or exercise
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of quarterstaff
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.
See Examples For:
On NBC, an American Gladiator is a beefcake model in a unitard swinging his padded quarterstaff.
From Time Magazine Archive
And the poor fellow hung about sadly, thinking he should find none in the end, and swearing he would follow me even had he naught but a quarterstaff in his hand.
From A Thane of Wessex by Whistler, Charles W. (Charles Watts)
And next, I saw my quarterstaff still resting against the tree where I had left it.
From A Thane of Wessex by Whistler, Charles W. (Charles Watts)
Roger, in addition to these, had a heavy oaken quarterstaff.
From Both Sides the Border A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower by Peacock, Ralph
The more ancient sports of quintain, on land and water, morris dancing, quarterstaff, archery, and such like, were all familiar enough.
From For the Faith by Everett-Green, Evelyn
"You two cats been checked out on quarterstaffs?"
From Black Man's Burden by Reynolds, Mack
"Using these quarterstaffs brings to mind some of the other supposedly innoxious devices used by police authorities in controlling unruly demonstrations," he said.
From Black Man's Burden by Reynolds, Mack
Elmer and Kenny would be the other twosome, and, both armed with quarterstaffs would be troubleshooters.
From Black Man's Burden by Reynolds, Mack
Perhaps the army of the U. S. really has something able to scatter a troop of teen-age Boy Scouts armed with quarterstaves.
From Time Magazine Archive
Not a night can I sleep for some horrid apparition or other; one while these myrmidons are measuring silks by their quarterstaves, another stuffing their greasy pouches with my lord high treasurer's jacobuses.
From The Commonwealth of Oceana by Harrington, James
This, which would only have brought us all into a brunt with quarterstaves, and similar servile weapons, was declined, as had been foreseen.
From Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah — Volume 2 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
The outlaws—for such they seemed—were roughly clad in gray homespun and Lincoln green, and armed with bows and quarterstaves.
From Cedric, the Forester by Marshall, Bernard Gay
Behind the illustrious personages just described marched a troop of stalwart fellows, with white badges in their hats, quarterstaves, oaken cudgels, and links in their hands.
From Jack Sheppard A Romance by Ainsworth, William Harrison
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.
