Illustration of sword
- 1 pommel
- 2 hilt
- 3 guard
- 4 blade
often attributive
1
: a weapon (such as a cutlass or rapier) with a long blade for cutting or thrusting that is often used as a symbol of honor or authority
2
a
: an agency or instrument of destruction or combat
b
: the use of force
the pen is mightier than the sword—
E. G. Bulwer-Lytton
E. G. Bulwer-Lytton3
: coercive power
4
: something that resembles a sword
Examples of sword in a Sentence
once upon a time dueling with swords was the gentlemanly way to settle a point of honor
Recent Examples on the Web
His death came after he was allegedly impaled with a samurai sword and blinded in one eye during an attack by a group of young tenants who lived in box trucks on his property.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
Trump cut a cake adorned with a model of Air Force One — in a new paint scheme — with a sword at his Jan. 20 inaugural ball.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2025
The possible existence of boson stars is a double-edge sword.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 26 Jan. 2025
Memorable improvisations include an Apache deck from the 19th century, with sword, bell and button forms painted into rectangles of rawhide, and a deck of Paris metro tickets painted over by Alexis Poliakoff in the 1970s.
—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for sword 
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Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
Trump cut a cake adorned with a model of Air Force One — in a new paint scheme — with a sword at his Jan. 20 inaugural ball.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2025
The possible existence of boson stars is a double-edge sword.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 26 Jan. 2025
Memorable improvisations include an Apache deck from the 19th century, with sword, bell and button forms painted into rectangles of rawhide, and a deck of Paris metro tickets painted over by Alexis Poliakoff in the 1970s.
—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for sword
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Cite this Entry
“Sword.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sword. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
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