Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

sheath knife

American  

noun

  1. a knife carried in a sheath.


sheath knife British  

noun

  1. a knife carried in or protected by a sheath

"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

Etymology

Origin of sheath knife

First recorded in 1830–40

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:

He and those he served with slept above board, doused in shark repellent, armed with a sheath knife and life vest.

From Washington Times Mar. 21, 2020

Of the American director’s best-known films, Brick was slick and sharp as a vintage sheath knife in its high-school noir stylings, if not exactly funny, while Looper was brooding and serious from the opening credits.

From The Guardian Dec. 16, 2017

A sheath knife with a compass in the handle.

From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

In the darkness he loosened his sheath knife and taking all the strain of the fish on his left shoulder he leaned back and cut the line against the wood of the gunwale.

From "The Old Man and The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

One jabs his fork into a convenient spot of the roast—forks are common on the pampas—and with a clever stroke of his big sheath knife cuts off a slab of meat.

From The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn A Study of Life in Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia by Spears, John R.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training