sword
Americannoun
-
swords
plural
-
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.
-
this weapon as the symbol of military power, punitive justice, authority, etc..
The pen is mightier than the sword.
-
a cause of death or destruction.
-
war, combat, slaughter, or violence, especially military force or aggression.
to perish by the sword.
-
Military. Sword. the code name for one of the five D-Day invasion beaches on France's Normandy coast, assaulted by British forces.
noun
-
a thrusting, striking, or cutting weapon with a long blade having one or two cutting edges, a hilt, and usually a crosspiece or guard
-
such a weapon worn on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of authority
-
something resembling a sword, such as the snout of a swordfish
-
to argue or fight
-
-
violence or power, esp military power
-
death; destruction
to put to the sword
-
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sword
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sweord; cognate with Dutch zwaard, German Schwert, Old Norse sverth
Explanation
A sword is a weapon with a long, sharp, metal blade. If you want to dress up as a knight for Halloween, you'll definitely need a sword — and maybe a suit of armor. Swords evolved from daggers, which, like knives, have two sharp edges instead of just one. Some time during the Bronze Age, daggers became longer and longer, eventually being classified as swords. These long, sharp weapons were used by soldiers on battlefields, and for self-defense and dueling. Sword can be traced back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cut or pierce."
Vocabulary lists containing sword
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.
See Examples For:
In the popular imagination, a Viking is tall, broad-shouldered man who wields a sword, and might have a modern haircut like a skin fade or lots of tattoos.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
The sword of Damocles didn’t descend, but its glint lit every meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
"I think I've always liked the characters in movies and films and books and stuff, not the hero of the story, but the guy who made the hero's sword," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The second trickier and clumsier aside happens when Banderas’ chef tells Tony the tragedy of 17th century French cook François Vatel, who literally fell on his sword before serving a banquet to Louis XIV.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“I could’ve taken him,” Autumn signs, wincing as she retrieves her sword.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Still, the exhibitions spotlight ships, swords and artifacts of trade and travel, placing them front and center.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Do you think they are going to fall on their swords?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
In the 20-minute gameplay sequence, Lara Croft -- still in her famous blue top and brown shorts -- explores an abandoned tomb in Greece, battling panthers and dodging giant swords falling from the ceiling.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
America embarked on the digital equivalent of turning swords into plowshares.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
She smiled then, for she remembered how bravely Timothy had helped them escape from those awful pirate thespians in London, with their sharp-edged swords and loud, intricately rhymed choral numbers.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
