Recent Examples on the WebThe tech sector has played a vital role in the war effort: turning plowshares into swords; converting civilian drones into weapons; repurposing skills to turn coders into cyberwarriors; and creating platforms and apps to source, fund, connect.—WIRED, 10 July 2023 For bread, all vanished into an emptiness thirsty as old iron, a plowshare Left in a fallow field for decades beside a snakeskin wound through the eyehole Of a steer’s skull.—The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2022 The back yard, occasionally used as a party space, was bare, save for a medieval-style plowshare.—Ian Volner, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021 During a brief window during the Eisenhower era, the US government still seriously explored the peaceful uses of the atom—a program known as PLOWSHARE, after the Biblical phrase about beating swords into plowshares.—Garrett M. Graff, WIRED, 26 Aug. 2019 What was once a great swords-to-plowshares example of former rivals sharing technology is now a point of tension—and Russian leverage.—Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 17 Apr. 2018 Trade wars, like all wars, empower government as plowshares are beaten into swords.—Phil Gramm and, WSJ, 23 Mar. 2018 But across the Middle East, and among the great powers, there's little sign of the political will needed to turn swords into plowshares.—Tim Lister, CNN, 21 Oct. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plowshare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English ploughshare, from plough plow + schare plowshare — more at share entry 3
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