guillotine

noun

guil·​lo·​tine ˈgi-lə-ˌtēn  ˌgē-(y)ə-ˈtēn  ˈgē-(y)ə-ˌtēn 

1

: a machine for beheading by means of a heavy blade that slides down in vertical guides

2

: a shearing machine or instrument (such as a paper cutter) that in action resembles a guillotine

The paper was trimmed on a guillotine.

3

chiefly British : closure by the imposition of a predetermined time limit on the consideration of specific sections of a bill or portions of other legislative business

guillotine transitive verb

Examples of guillotine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During the worst violence of the French Revolution, Joséphine was arbitrarily arrested and condemned, and lived with the constant threat of death by guillotine any day. —Anne Higonnet, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2023

Certain wandered between rows of mannequins fettered with leg irons, claustrophobic dungeon cells and a towering guillotine. —Jeremy Redmon, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2023

As the final seconds ticked, Danis attempted to put Paul into a guillotine chokehold. —Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 15 Oct. 2023

Duly horrified by the French Revolution, though not too horrified to lick the blood from Marie Antoinette’s guillotine, the young man soon stages his untimely demise. —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023

One of the sites of a guillotine during the French Revolution was now a fan zone, with four vast screens provided to watch France take on mighty New Zealand, three-time Cup winners. —Victor Mather, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023

With a potential billion-dollar guillotine hanging over its neck, the house of Wildenstein is in unprecedented peril. —Rachel Corbett, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2023

The initial answers provide no shortage of grim amusement, especially when a young Pinochet witnesses the French Revolution and proceeds to learn all the wrong lessons from it (though not before licking the blade of Marie Antoinette’s guillotine). —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023

Of course Alice Cooper’s Zoom profile picture is of a guillotine. —Vulture, 25 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

French, from Joseph Guillotin †1814 French physician

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

guillotine

noun

guil·​lo·​tine ˈgil-ə-ˌtēn  ˌgē-(y)ə-ˈtēn 

ˈgē-(y)əˌ-tēn

: a machine for cutting off a person's head by means of a heavy blade sliding in two upright grooved posts

guillotine verb

Etymology

named for Joseph Guillotin 1738–1814 French doctor and public official

Medical Definition

guillotine

noun

guil·​lo·​tine ˈgil-ə-ˌtēn  ˈgē-ə-ˌtēn 

: a surgical instrument that consists of a ring and handle with a knife blade which slides down the handle and across the ring and that is used for cutting out a protruding structure (as a tonsil) capable of being placed in the ring