What does "sword" mean?

1. (the weapon) a weapon with a long, sharp metal blade and a handle, used for cutting or stabbing. 2. (military force) the use of force or war to achieve something. 3. (playing cards) one of the four groups of cards in certain decks, often used for telling the future.

sword — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01the weapon

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. a weapon with a long, sharp metal blade and a handle, used for cutting or stabbing.

n. a weapon consisting of a long metal blade fixed into a hilt, used for striking or thrusting.

“The knight drew his sword from its cover and prepared for the fight.”

“The museum's collection includes a ceremonial sword with an ivory hilt and a blade forged from high-carbon steel.”

Synonyms

blade sabre foil

02military force

C1 · Advanced Uncountable noun Literary

n. the use of force or war to achieve something.

n. the use of military power or violence as a means of coercion or destruction.

“The king decided to settle the argument by the sword.”

“The historian argued that the empire was won by the sword but maintained through sophisticated bureaucracy and trade.”

Synonyms

force violence might

Antonyms

peace diplomacy

03playing cards

C2 · Proficiency Plural noun Technical

n. one of the four groups of cards in certain decks, often used for telling the future.

n. a suit in specific playing card decks, such as the Spanish or Italian decks, or in tarot cards used for divination.

“She turned over the three of swords during the card reading.”

“In traditional tarot iconography, the suit of swords is frequently associated with the element of air and the challenges of the intellect.”

Synonyms

suit

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “sword” in context.

Verb

01. brandish a sword

“The rebel leader brandished his sword to rally the troops.”

verb + noun

02. unsheathe a sword

“The knight slowly unsheathed his sword as he prepared for the duel.”

verb + noun

03. wield a sword

“The protagonist was trained to wield a sword with lethal precision.”

verb + noun

Adjective

04. ceremonial sword

“The officer carried a ceremonial sword during the military parade.”

adj + noun

05. double-edged sword

“Fame is often a double-edged sword, bringing both wealth and a loss of privacy.”

adj + noun

Noun

06. clash of swords

“The silence of the night was broken by the sudden clash of swords.”

noun + of + noun

07. sword fight

“The movie features a spectacular sword fight on the castle ramparts.”

noun + noun

Preposition

08. by the sword

“Historically, many empires were built and maintained by the sword.”

prep + noun

“He then got out of the car and attacked the 16-year-old with a sword.”

Toronto Sun 14 Aug 2026

“A single-location film is a double-edged sword: it’s a high-wire act for the film-maker that, if written and performed well, can ably demonstrate their ability to master the essentials.”

The Guardian 13 Aug 2026

“A few years ago, researchers re-examined the artifacts found near the nameless soldier: a belt, a sword and a bag of coins.”

Smithsonian Magazine 28 Jul 2026

“The double-edged sword of musicals is that they’re middlebrow.”

JSTOR Daily 8 Jul 2026

Inherited from West Midland Middle English sword (swerd in most dialects), from Old English sweord (“sword”), from Proto-West Germanic swerd (“sword”), from Proto-Germanic swerdą (“sword”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂w- (“sharp”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Swērt, Swiirt, swörd (“sword”), Saterland Frisian Swid, Swäid (“sword”), West Frisian swurd (“sword”), Dutch zwaard (“sword”), German Schwert (“sword”), Luxembourgish Schwäert (“sword”), Vilamovian świert (“sword”), Yiddish שווערד (shverd, “sword”), Danish sværd (“sword”), Faroese svørð (“sword”), Icelandic sverð (“sword”), Norn svird (“small longish object”), Norwegian Bokmål sverd (“sword”), Norwegian Nynorsk sverd, svørd (“sword”), Swedish svärd (“sword”); also Belarusian све́рдзел (svjérdzjel, “drill, drill bit”), Bulgarian свре́дел (svrédel, “drill, drill bit”), Czech svider (“drill bit”), Polish świder (“drill”), Russian сверло́ (sverló, “auger, bore, drill, drill bit”), Serbo-Croatian свр̏дло, svȑdlo (“auger”), Slovene sveder (“drill”), Ukrainian све́рдел (svérdel), све́рдло (svérdlo, “drill bit”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

sword(C1)

swordfish(B1)

swordsman(B2)

blade lunged Zanshin