sword
Americannoun
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swords
plural
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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.
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this weapon as the symbol of military power, punitive justice, authority, etc..
The pen is mightier than the sword.
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a cause of death or destruction.
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war, combat, slaughter, or violence, especially military force or aggression.
to perish by the sword.
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Military. Sword. the code name for one of the five D-Day invasion beaches on France's Normandy coast, assaulted by British forces.
noun
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a thrusting, striking, or cutting weapon with a long blade having one or two cutting edges, a hilt, and usually a crosspiece or guard
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such a weapon worn on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of authority
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something resembling a sword, such as the snout of a swordfish
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to argue or fight
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violence or power, esp military power
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death; destruction
to put to the sword
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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:
"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
I felt even cooler holding my sword, knees bent, feet wide, ready and waiting in my “advance” stance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
The last update showed a photo of a sword.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Our water system’s decentralized, fragmented nature, perhaps a bit like our electoral system, is a double-edged sword, inasmuch as its vulnerabilities are atomized—at least a single hacker can’t contaminate all the water in the country.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Obayifo gives an experimental swing of Autumn’s sword.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Do you think they are going to fall on their swords?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
"The last owner of the castle, Denys Eyre Bower, did collect swords but the lake itself was built in the 1800s," Collick said.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
No dragons, of course, but plenty of political conniving, clashing swords and last-minute escapes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"For now, people are sharpening their swords and firming up their positions," auto analyst Stefan Bratzel of the Centre of Automotive Management told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
That night, I dreamed the salt statues came to life and set on our captors with their swords, but every one of the statues had the face of the dead man.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
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.
