stiletto

[ sti-let-oh ]

noun

, plural sti·let·tos, sti·let·toes.

1. a short dagger with a blade that is thick in proportion to its width.
2. a pointed instrument for making eyelet holes in needlework.
3. spike heel [spahyk, , heel]. stiletto heel ( def 1 ).

verb (used with object)

, sti·let·toed, sti·let·to·ing.

1. to stab or kill with a stiletto.

stiletto

/ stɪˈlɛtəʊ /

noun

1. a small dagger with a slender tapered blade
2. a sharply pointed tool used to make holes in leather, cloth, etc
3. Also calledspike heelstiletto heel a very high heel on a woman's shoe, tapering to a very narrow tip

verb

1. tr to stab with a stiletto

Other Words From

• sti·let·to·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stiletto¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Italian, equivalent to stil(o) “dagger” (from Latin stilus stylus ) + -etto -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of stiletto¹

C17: from Italian, from stilo a dagger, from Latin stilus a stake, pen; see stylus

Example Sentences

In order to ooze out the blood, people make cuts around the snakebite area using whatever available accessories like knives and stilettos.

From The Daily Beast

Here she was in those stilettos, her heels clicking on concrete sidewalks.

From Washington Post

The one thing sneakerheads, stiletto fanatics, and regular Joes and Joannes have in common is a surfeit of shoes.

From Popular-Science

You throw on a pair of stilettos and make like it’s your first night on the Vineyard.

From Washington Blade

A guy wearing pink appeared to be spotting her, but I was worried that he could have gotten impaled by those Stiletto heels.

From The Daily Beast

At the time, Fendrick remembers, very few women (outside of “4/20 girls” or “stiletto stoners”) were speaking out about it.

From The Daily Beast

As it turns out, Rowling is just as obsessed with the high-heeled stiletto as most girls.

From The Daily Beast

All that was left of the corpse was a headless, armless torso with one leg, still wearing a stiletto-heeled boot.

From The Daily Beast

A one-legged torso wearing only a stiletto-heeled boot was found floating in a Venice lagoon.

From The Daily Beast

Among the things I brought from the ship on a subsequent visit were a stiletto that had originally been given to me by my mother.

From Project Gutenberg

At one time I thought I would follow the whole party, and kill them in the darkness with my stiletto when opportunity offered.

From Project Gutenberg

I never used either stiletto or tomahawk unless absolutely necessary, reserving both for great emergencies.

From Project Gutenberg

To the Sicilian, for example, marital infidelity means the stiletto; to the American, the divorce court.

From Project Gutenberg

Finally, he offered her a pretty little stiletto, less remarkable for its shape and copper mounting than for its origin.

From Project Gutenberg

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