dagger

noun

dag·​ger ˈda-gər 

1

: a sharp pointed knife for stabbing

2

a

: something that resembles a dagger

b

: a character † used as a reference mark or to indicate a death date

daggerlike

ˈda-gər-ˌlīk 

adjective

Phrases

at daggers drawn

: in a state of open hostility or conflict

look daggers or stare daggers

: to stare angrily

they looked daggers at each other across the table

Examples of dagger in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The final dagger for Martinez was an 11-game losing streak last month, when Washington went 7-19. —Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025

Unlike two semi-famous people who blithely chatted away in the aisle holding up the start of Act 2. Andrew Lloyd Webber shot daggers at them. —Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 July 2025

But his co-stars stepped up in that 83-79 win over the Celtics, with Artest scoring 20 points in 46 minutes, including a dagger 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining off of a pass from Bryant. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 June 2025

The notable image from that summit was of Trump seated with his arms folded defiantly as then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel stared daggers at him. —Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dagger

• cloak-and-dagger
• double dagger

Rhymes for dagger

• agger
• bagger
• stagger
• swagger

Kids Definition

dagger

noun

dag·​ger ˈdag-ər 

1

: a short weapon for stabbing

2

: a symbol † used in printing as a reference mark to indicate a death date