sheath knife

American  

noun

1. a knife carried in a sheath.

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sheath knife British  

noun

1. a knife carried in or protected by a sheath

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Etymology

Origin of sheath knife

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

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

Not this one: Designer Bill Harsey�s knife can do just about anything a sheath knife will.

From Time Magazine Archive

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