sickle
Americannoun
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an implement for cutting grain, grass, etc., consisting of a curved, hooklike blade mounted in a short handle.
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Astronomy. Sickle, a group of stars in the constellation Leo, likened to this implement for its curved, sickle-like shape.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sickle
First recorded before 1000; Middle English sikel, Old English sicol; cognate with Dutch zikkel, German Sichel, all ultimately derived from Latin secula, equivalent to sec(āre) “to cut” + -ula -ule
Explanation
A sickle is a tool with a handle and a curved metal blade that workers use for trimming grass or harvesting crops. Put a hammer next to a sickle and boom, there’s the symbol for communism. Farmers use sickles to clear brush or cut grain crops by hand. In some parts of the world, sickles are also used as weapons and for cooking. The sickle often represents an agricultural working class, notably in the crossed hammer and sickle symbol of the former Soviet Union and current Communist and Socialist parties around the world. Sickle comes from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cut."
Vocabulary lists containing sickle
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Shiloh
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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.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical company said it has discontinued its pociredir program for the treatment of sickle cell disease and launched “a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value.”
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Without any products on the market, Fulcrum Therapeutics had been striving to commercialize its experimental drug for sickle cell disease, but those plans appear to now be on hold.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
A model of how one of GluBio’s experimental ‘molecular glue’ drugs causes two proteins in the human body, WIZ and cereblon, to stick to each other in a way designed to relieve sickle cell disease.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Beyond entertainment, Shepard devoted herself to raising awareness for sickle cell anemia after a friend died of the affliction.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
I knew very well that all he said was ridiculous, not light for their darkness but flattery, illusion, a vortex pulling them from sunlight to heat, a kind of midsummer burgeoning, waltz to the sickle.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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.
