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sidearm

[sahyd-ahrm]
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adverb
  1. with a swinging motion of the arm moving to the side of the body at shoulder level or below and nearly parallel to the ground: to pitch sidearm.
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adjective
  1. thrown or performed sidearm: a sidearm curve ball; sidearm stroke.
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Origin of sidearm

First recorded in 1925–30; side1 + arm1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

bladebayonetswordcutlassponiardstyletswitchbladestilettobodkindirkanlacesidearmskean

Examples from the Web for sidearm

Historical Examples

  • He strode out of the office, hooking his sidearm belt from a hanger as he went by.

    The Best Made Plans

    Everett B. Cole

  • Gonzales was zipping up his tunic and putting on his belt and sidearm.

    Oomphel in the Sky

    Henry Beam Piper

  • After all, a kirpan was a sidearm, and his religion required him to carry that.

    Four-Day Planet

    Henry Beam Piper

  • Even worse, the pressure at his hip told him that he hadn't even bothered to take his sidearm off.

    Anything You Can Do ...

    Gordon Randall Garrett

  • As Barrent came through the doorway, two of the men moved back; the third, his sidearm negligently lowered, stepped forward.

Word Origin and History for sidearm

adj.

also side-arm, 1908, from side (adj.) + arm (n.1).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper