rapier
Americannoun
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rapiers
plural
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a small sword, especially of the 18th century, having a narrow blade and used for thrusting.
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a longer, heavier sword, especially of the 16th and 17th centuries, having a double-edged blade and used for slashing and thrusting.
noun
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a long narrow two-edged sword with a guarded hilt, used as a thrusting weapon, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries
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a smaller single-edged 18th-century sword, used principally in France
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of rapier
1545–55; < Middle French ( espee ) rapiere literally, rasping (sword); see rape 3
Compare meaning
How does rapier compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A rapier is a sword which has two edges on its narrow blade. In the time of Shakespeare, a rapier was a common weapon — it's even used by some of his characters. A rapier is a particular kind of sword, used mostly for thrusting. Rapiers were especially popular in 16th and 17th century Europe. The long, slender blade of the rapier is lightweight and very sharp, and it usually has an intricate hilt, or handle, to protect the hand of the person wielding it. Because of its blade's characteristic sharpness, rapier is also used as an adjective: if you have a rapier wit, you are quick with the jokes.
Vocabulary lists containing rapier
Othello
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"The Highwayman"
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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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:
Susan, who has multiple sclerosis, walks with a cane, but one wouldn’t be surprised to see her wielding it as a rapier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
No one bothered to do the math, however, because Bentsen destroyed Quayle’s point with a rapier thrust.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
Schroeder took on the powerful elite with her rapier wit and antics for 24 years, shaking up stodgy government institutions by forcing them to acknowledge that women had a role in government.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
Lydia Millet’s most recent novel was a polished rapier called “A Children’s Bible.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 27, 2022
I had just finished strapping on my blood bag and rapier and dressing myself and was about to step from the tiring-room, when the rear door of the theatre opened and Nick stepped inside.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
He was terrific at the World Cup, his dynamism and cleverness at the breakdown helping to protect and unleash the rapiers in his backline.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2016
Their prose had the flash of rapiers; his was a cut-throat razor.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 31, 2014
The object is to make those fights look dangerous, without endangering the swashbuckling performers who brandish the swords and rapiers.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2013
Our rapiers were hockey sticks with modified handles and a retracting spring mechanism built into the hollow fiberglass shaft to allow us to stab without injuring one another.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2012
We worked frequently with blunted rapiers and protective plates.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
