sword

[sawrd, sohrd]

noun

1. a weapon having various forms but consisting typically of a long, straight or slightly curved blade, sharp-edged on one or both sides, with one end pointed and the other fixed in a hilt or handle.

2. this weapon as the symbol of military power, punitive justice, authority, etc..

   The pen is mightier than the sword.

3. a cause of death or destruction.

4. war, combat, slaughter, or violence, especially military force or aggression.

   to perish by the sword.

5. Military.,  Sword. the code name for one of the five D-Day invasion beaches on France's Normandy coast, assaulted by British forces.

sword

/ sɔːd /

noun

1. a thrusting, striking, or cutting weapon with a long blade having one or two cutting edges, a hilt, and usually a crosspiece or guard

2. such a weapon worn on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of authority

3. something resembling a sword, such as the snout of a swordfish

4. to argue or fight

5. 1. violence or power, esp military power

   2. death; destruction

      to put to the sword

Other Word Forms

• swordless adjective
• swordlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sword¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sweord; cognate with Dutch zwaard, German Schwert, Old Norse sverth

Word History and Origins

Origin of sword¹

Old English sweord; related to Old Saxon swerd, Old Norse sverth, Old High German swert

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at swords' points, mutually antagonistic or hostile; opposed.

   Father and son are constantly at swords' point.

2. put to the sword, to slay; execute.

   The entire population of the town was put to the sword.

3. cross swords,

   1. to engage in combat; fight.

   2. to disagree violently; argue.

      The board members crossed swords in the selection of a president.

More idioms and phrases containing sword

• at sword's point
• cross swords

Example Sentences

That he didn’t settle for peace and quiet while Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah and missile arsenal still loomed over Israel like a sword of Damocles?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Two teenagers are to stand trial accused of the murder of a 15-year-old boy in a sword attack in a Glasgow street.

Read more on BBC

“Having student-loan debt is kind of a double-edged sword,” said Tyler Bond, research director at the institute.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Scientists say that marks on its skull suggest that the "sword dragon" may have been killed by a bite to the head, possibly inflicted by a much larger species of ichthyosaur.

Read more on BBC

The only way to break through this wall of ice is to fall on your sword.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• blade 
• dagger 
• weapon