truncheon

1 of 2

noun

trun·​cheon ˈtrən-chən 

1

a

: a police officer's billy club

b

: baton sense 2

c

obsolete : club, bludgeon

2

: a shattered spear or lance

truncheon

2 of 2

verb

truncheoned; truncheoning; truncheons

transitive verb

archaic

: to beat with a truncheon

Synonyms

Noun

• bastinado
• bastinade
• bat
• baton
• billy
• billy club
• bludgeon
• cane
• club
• cudgel
• nightstick
• rod
• rung [Scottish]
• sap
• shillelagh
• shillalah
• staff
• waddy [Australian]

Examples of truncheon in a Sentence

Noun

police officers kept their hands on their truncheons

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

It’s set 49 years in the future, a time when surveillance drones swarm the skies and shock troops keep the order, truncheons in hand. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2024

Each side must field somewhere between two and eleven players, some of whom shall carry flattened truncheons, while others toss about leather balls. —Simon Webster, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2023

Later, after riot police used truncheons and tear gas to disperse the people, demonstrators set up tent camps with barricades, self-defense units, and banners with revolutionary slogans. —Hanna Arhirova, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Nov. 2023

One is lined with corporate PR speak, the other with police truncheons. —WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English tronchoun, from Anglo-French trunchun, from Vulgar Latin *truncion-, *truncio, from Latin truncus trunk

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

circa 1598, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

truncheon

noun

trun·​cheon

ˈtrən-chən

: a police officer's club