cutlass

noun

cut·​lass ˈkət-ləs How to pronounce cutlass (audio)
1
: a short curving sword formerly used by sailors on warships
2

Examples of cutlass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The ultimate prop was the pirate flag, which could be decorated with a skull and crossbones (as in the classic Jolly Roger design), bleeding hearts, hourglasses, spears, cutlasses and skeletons. Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024 In that post, she could be seen dressed in a pirate costume, complete with a large hat, knee-high black boots and a cutlass sword. Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024 Farmers harvest the ripe yellow pods by hand, and then crack them open with a cutlass, or thick stick. Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023 Flashes of that larger story do shine through, and the book advances Graeber’s mission: to destabilize our idea of what’s possible and show that humans can, and often do, create egalitarian worlds built on points of consensus instead of the sharp end of a cutlass. Sam Dean, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2023 The pipe’s walls, between 400 and 600 feet long, reach a vertiginous 22 feet, and its edges are cutlass sharp, leaving little to the eye but a cleaved sky. Nick Remsen, Vogue, 11 Feb. 2022 One, a nurse once driven from his home by Boko Haram, who lost everything but had found refuge in the estate, has started sleeping with a cutlass under his bed. New York Times, 23 Sep. 2021 Marse, where the picong sharp like cutlass and cutting politician down to size and making fun of everything that taking itself too serious. M Nourbese Philip, Harper's BAZAAR, 16 Feb. 2021 The original had a leather-washer handle and a D-ring guard like a cutlass. David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 16 Feb. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle French coutelas, augmentative of coutel knife, from Latin cultellus, diminutive of culter knife, plowshare

First Known Use

1584, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cutlass was in 1584

Dictionary Entries Near cutlass

Cite this Entry

“Cutlass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cutlass. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

cutlass

noun
cut·​lass ˈkət-ləs How to pronounce cutlass (audio)
: a short curved sword

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