bayonet

noun bay·o·net \ ˈbā-ə-nət , -ˌnet , ˌbā-ə-ˈnet \

Definition of bayonet

:a steel blade attached at the muzzle end of a shoulder arm (such as a rifle) and used in hand-to-hand combat

See bayonet defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of bayonet from the Web

However, as of December, at least 100 grenade launchers, 1,600 bayonets, and 126 tank-like vehicles had been recalled.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump to Lift Ban on Providing Military Gear to Local Police," 28 Aug. 2017
Their training had been constructed around the lessons Great Britain learned in World War I, when bayonets and trenches dominated.

— stephanie zacharek, Time, "Is a Masterpiece," 19 July 2017
The Kentucky guard attacks the basket with muscular impunity and with all of the grace and finesse of a bayonet charge.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Isaiah Briscoe NBA Draft scouting report," 20 June 2017
Some come dressed as British soldiers, carrying muskets and bayonets, and others come as American militiamen, armed with Kentucky long-rifles and a cannon.

— katie jackson, Fox News, "6 Historic reenactments every American should see," 15 June 2017
Though the devastations of war are painfully individualized, its violence is left generic: whether the work of artillery shells or land mines, machine guns or bayonets, the destruction of the body is presented as the woeful lot of mankind itself.

— richard brody, The New Yorker, "Oh! Uomo," 5 June 2017
JOHNSON'S ISLAND, Ohio - Rain slices down the bayonet of the bronze Confederate soldier guarding the entrance to a Civil War cemetery on Sandusky Bay where some 267 Rebel officers and soldiers are buried.

— brian albrecht, cleveland.com, "Confederate statue controversy yet to reach Ohio's Civil War Rebel monuments (photos, videos)," 3 June 2017
Naper Settlement's annual Civil War Days program always draws a crowd to watch more than 300 reenactors play everything from doctors to store retailers to infantrymen staging cannon-firing and bayonet-wielding battles.

— david sharos, Naperville Sun, "Civil War comes to life during annual Naper Settlement reenactment," 20 May 2017
But their long, lethal bayonets were fixed and ready for use.

— stephen brumwell, WSJ, "Redcoats and War Crimes," 19 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bayonet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bayonet

French baïonnette, from Bayonne, France

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1680

See Words from the same year

bayonet

verb

Definition of bayonet

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

Recent Examples of bayonet from the Web

McCain got bayoneted in the groin; a soldier broke his shoulder apart with a rifle butt.

— elliot kaufman, National Review, "John McCain: A Hero Under Fire," 19 July 2017
Shakespearean intrigue has them playing St. Louis and former bench boss Mike Yeo, whom Minnesota bayoneted off the plank last season only to watch him rescue the Blues in February and march them into the postseason on a 15-2-2 run.

— brian murphy, Twin Cities, "Murphy: For the Minnesota Wild, it’s Stanley Cup or bust," 10 Apr. 2017
Those women who tried to resist were bayoneted until the blood was running.

— nicholas stargardt, New York Times, "Two New Books Look at the Holocaust in Civic and Military Terms," 3 Jan. 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, "To Combat Trump, Democrats Ready a G.O.P. Tactic: Lawsuits," 14 Dec. 2016