broadsword

noun

broad·​sword ˈbrȯd-ˌsȯrd How to pronounce broadsword (audio)
: a large heavy sword with a broad blade for cutting rather than thrusting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The hands are broadsword-shaped, with a stainless steel build that contrasts nicely with the dial. Matthew Catellier, Forbes, 7 July 2022 In 2020, British teenagers and children wielding metal detectors discovered a pair of rare, 1,000-year-old coins and a late 17th- or early 18th-century English broadsword. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Dec. 2020 Cloud isn’t exactly discreet either, brandishing a broadsword as long as his body. Joshua Adams, Wired, 10 Nov. 2020 Cavill is Geralt of Rivia, a mutant slayer of monsters, gruffly navigating a world of broadswords and bloody battles. Brian Lowry, CNN, 20 Dec. 2019 Above his head is an arm holding a colonial-era broadsword believed to be the sword of Myles Standish, a Plymouth Colony military commander known in part for killing Native Americans. BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2019 The festival’s entrance was marked by a sixty-foot-tall portrait of Attila himself, wielding an immense broadsword and standing in front of what was either a bonfire or a sky illuminated by the baleful glow of war. Jacob Mikanowski, Harper's magazine, 21 July 2019 With their shields held overhead, soldiers would climb ladders held against the walls or rush through breaches, their arms furiously swinging two-handed broadswords and battle-axes or charging forward with long sharp pikes in front of them. William Gurstelle, Popular Mechanics, 11 Apr. 2019 With their shields held overhead, soldiers would climb ladders held against the walls or rush through breaches, their arms furiously swinging two-handed broadswords and battle-axes or charging forward with long sharp pikes in front of them. William Gurstelle, Popular Mechanics, 10 Aug. 2017 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of broadsword was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near broadsword

Cite this Entry

“Broadsword.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broadsword. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

broadsword

noun
broad·​sword ˈbrȯd-ˌsō(ə)rd How to pronounce broadsword (audio)
-ˌsȯ(ə)rd
: a sword with a wide blade

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