switchblade

[ swich-bleyd ]
See synonyms for switchblade on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a pocketknife, the blade of which is held by a spring and can be released suddenly, as by pressing a button.

Origin of switchblade

1
First recorded in 1905–10; switch + blade
  • Also called switchblade knife, switch knife .

Words Nearby switchblade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use switchblade in a sentence

  • Switchblades can fly towards targets under remote guidance by a human operator, or with autonomous navigation of their own.

  • The other two curs outa the same litter: switchblade an' Turkey-Buzzard, over there.

    Lone Star Planet | Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire
  • The next day, switchblade Joe Bonney came in to make payment on a note we were holding on him.

    Lone Star Planet | Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire
  • After a moment he withdrew it, and fumbled in his leg pocket withdrawing a switchblade knife.

    First on the Moon | Jeff Sutton
  • The switchblade snicked back and disappeared into a side pocket of the jacket, while Ord watched it with fascinated eyes.

    Remember the Alamo | R. R. Fehrenbach

British Dictionary definitions for switchblade

switchblade

switchblade knife

/ (ˈswɪtʃˌbleɪd) /


noun
  1. US and Canadian a knife with a retractable blade that springs out when a button is pressed

  • Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): flick knife

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