saber
Americannoun
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a heavy, one-edged sword, usually slightly curved, used especially by cavalry.
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a soldier armed with such a sword.
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Fencing.
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a sword having two cutting edges and a blunt point.
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the art or sport of fencing with the saber, with the target being limited to the head, trunk, and arms, and hits being made with the front edge and the upper part of the back edge of the sword and by thrusts.
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verb (used with object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of saber
First recorded in 1670–80; from French sabre, sable, from German Sabel (now Säbel ), earlier sewel, schebel, from Polish szabla; compare Czech šavle, Serbo-Croatian sȁblja, Russian sáblya “sword, saber,” perhaps all ultimately from Hungarian szablya, though derivation and transmission uncertain
Explanation
A saber is an old fashioned sword with a curved blade. Sabers were used in many historic battles, including the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. The saber is usually described as a "cavalry sword," or a weapon carried by a soldier on horseback. As guns became more common during wartime, cavalry troops armed with sabers became less and less typical. The word saber comes from the French sabre, "heavy, curved sword," Säbel in German and szablya in Hungarian, from the root szabni, "to cut."
Vocabulary lists containing saber
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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"The War Prayer"
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The Wishing Spell
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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:
For years, historians followed the bomb’s echoes through the Cold War: Bikini Atoll and nuclear bunkers, Strangelove and SALT, détente and Defcon, Star Wars and saber rattling, to hit a few low points.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Yet at other times he has rattled the nuclear saber.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025
The Eisenhower library has several swords from the president in its collection, including a saber and a sword of honour featured in a current exhibit.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
It doesn’t matter that Dershwitz is the reigning world champion in men’s saber and a medal favorite at the 2024 Paris Games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2024
He began buttoning his shirt as the courier rode off—no hurry, why hurry?—and began slipping on the belt and saber.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
He told the president he could go even farther than Ronald Reagan, which, in this context, is an interesting statement, since Reagan rattled some sabers initially but actually made the judicious decision to withdraw.
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026
Paleontologists still do not know how saber-toothed animals like Smilodon hunted prey without breaking their unwieldy sabers.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2024
The molecular sabers are unlikely to promote resistance because bacteria cannot easily change the essential cell-wall components that lysins target.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 13, 2023
The game lets players create their own Jedi, wield light sabers and choose whether to follow the light or dark side of the Force, in a galaxy filled with complex characters and a rich story.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2022
“Harrrrr!” the pirates roared, shaking their sabers to the rafters.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
