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
Explore M-W
Recent Examples of bayonet from the Web
-
Their training had been constructed around the lessons Great Britain learned in World War I, when bayonets and trenches dominated.
-
The Kentucky guard attacks the basket with muscular impunity and with all of the grace and finesse of a bayonet charge.
-
Some come dressed as British soldiers, carrying muskets and bayonets, and others come as American militiamen, armed with Kentucky long-rifles and a cannon.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
But their long, lethal bayonets were fixed and ready for use.
-
With the few surviving U.S. riflemen reduced to fixing their bayonets for hand-to-hand combat, German troops crawled as close as 4 yards to Mr. Ross’ machine-gun nest.
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
bayonet
Definition of bayonet
bayoneted
alsobayonetted
;bayoneting
alsobayonetting
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.
-
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.
-
Those women who tried to resist were bayoneted until the blood was running.
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.
First Known Use of bayonet
1778
BAYONET Defined for English Language Learners
bayonet
playDefinition of bayonet for English Language Learners
-
: a long knife that is attached to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon in battle
BAYONET Defined for Kids
Definition of bayonet for Students
: a weapon like a dagger made to fit on the end of a rifle
Definition of bayonet for Students
bayonetted
;bayonetting
: to stab with a bayonet
Learn More about bayonet
-
See words that rhyme with bayonet Spanish Central: Translation of bayonet Nglish: Translation of bayonet for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of bayonet for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bayonet
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up bayonet? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!