shillelagh

noun

shil·​le·​lagh shə-ˈlā-lē How to pronounce shillelagh (audio)
variants or less commonly shillalah
: cudgel

Examples of shillelagh in a Sentence

the bartender in the Irish pub keeps a shillelagh behind the bar just in case there's trouble
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
McDonagh had some help from Finn Balor, who hit Sheamus with a shillelagh when the referee was distracted. Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025 Kelly professionalized a program that kept tripping over its own shillelagh. Pete Sampson, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025 Sheamus brought Rusev to the first row and then hit the 10 Beats for yet a third time, this time with a shillelagh. Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025 Maier, who was heading out of town that weekend for a meeting of the National League of Cities, saw the foot-long shillelagh and, according to a Milwaukee Sentinel story by Marta Bender, mistook it for a pipe. Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 3 July 2025 The original shillelagh was retired with a new one introduced in 1997. Tom Layberger, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024 Or this:Youu can't pack a shillelagh in your carry-on: TSA finds cudgel at Idaho airport Meg Foster, a justice fellow at Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology, said there are concerns about bias within the algorithms of various facial recognition technologies. Rebecca Santana and Rick Gentilo, USA TODAY, 15 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Shillelagh, town in Ireland

First Known Use

1772, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shillelagh was in 1772

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shillelagh.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shillelagh. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

shillelagh

noun
shil·​le·​lagh shə-ˈlā-lē How to pronounce shillelagh (audio)
Etymology

named for Shillelagh, a town in Ireland noted for its oak trees

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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