bayonet

1 of 2

noun

bay·​o·​net ˈbā-ə-nət How to pronounce bayonet (audio)
-ˌnet,
ˌbā-ə-ˈnet How to pronounce bayonet (audio)
: a steel blade attached at the muzzle end of a shoulder arm (such as a rifle) and used in hand-to-hand combat

bayonet

2 of 2

verb

bayoneted also bayonetted; bayoneting also bayonetting

transitive verb

1
: to stab with a bayonet
2
: to compel or drive by or as if by the bayonet

intransitive verb

: to use a bayonet

Examples of bayonet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Metal bayonet aside, the lens has a purely plastic (but quality) construction. PCMAG, 6 Feb. 2024 The most complicated maneuver was forming human squares, with bayonets pointed outward—an infantry formation that the British used to scare off the Frenchmen’s horses. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023 Silverware grew scarce as manufacturers turned butter knives into bayonets. Kerry J. Byrne Fox News, Fox News, 18 Jan. 2024 All the company had to do was remove a bayonet lug and stop selling folding rifle stocks and threaded muzzles. James Bandler, ProPublica, 21 Nov. 2023 Accordingly, they got started on finding the legislation’s many loopholes, and marketed new versions of the gun that evaded the ban, making simple changes like removing the bayonet lug and the flash suppressor—features that were listed in the bill but had no impact on the gun’s basic functionality. Colin Dickey, The New Republic, 23 Oct. 2023 Union soldiers also tossed thousands of Confederate weapons and supplies into the river, including sabers, bayonets, tents, backpacks, ball cartridges and gunpowder, according to Live Science’s Kristina Killgrove. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2023 Newspaper accounts of automobile deaths consistently emphasized the grisly fact that more U.S. citizens were killed by cars on American streets during the years of World War I than by German bayonets and munitions on the battlefields of Western Europe. Jack McCordick, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2023 Their predictions included a flag, a bayonet, a class ring or a diary. Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2023
Verb
There were injuries this time, with some students bayoneted for not retreating. Paula Schleis, cincinnati.com, 2 May 2020 And anyway, always better to be bitten by a stingray than bayoneted. Erik Heinrich, BostonGlobe.com, 16 May 2018 An Army inquiry ultimately determined that 347 civilians were killed that day — shot, bayoneted or blasted with grenades. Richard Goldstein, New York Times, 13 May 2018 An Army inquiry ultimately determined that 347 civilians were killed that day — shot, bayoneted, or blasted with grenades. Richard Goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, 14 May 2018 One elderly man was bayoneted to death; another man was thrown alive into a well and killed with a hand grenade. Fox News, 15 Mar. 2018 There are many battles in which surrendering soldiers are gunned down or bayoneted to death. Dom Giordano, Philly.com, 27 Sep. 2017 One of them, Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of Oklahoma, who used his office to bayonet Mr. Obama’s clean-energy regulations, was just chosen by Mr. Trump to become the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Vivian Yee, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bayonet.' 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

Noun

French baïonnette, from Bayonne, France

First Known Use

Noun

1680, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1778, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bayonet was in 1680

Dictionary Entries Near bayonet

Cite this Entry

“Bayonet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bayonet. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bayonet

1 of 2 noun
bay·​o·​net ˈbā-ə-nət How to pronounce bayonet (audio) -ˌnet How to pronounce bayonet (audio)
ˌbā-ə-ˈnet
: a weapon like a dagger made to fit on the muzzle end of a rifle

bayonet

2 of 2 verb
bayoneted also bayonetted; bayoneting also bayonetting
: to stab with a bayonet
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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