truncheon

1 of 2

noun

trun·cheon ˈtrən-chən

Synonyms of truncheon next

: a police officer's billy club

: baton sense 2

obsolete : club, bludgeon

: a shattered spear or lance

truncheon

2 of 2

verb

truncheoned; truncheoning; truncheons

transitive verb

archaic

: to beat with a truncheon

Examples of truncheon in a Sentence

Noun police officers kept their hands on their truncheons

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

If the Second Amendment is not limited to firearms, Monday’s ruling also calls into question state-level bans on weapons like truncheons, saps, billy clubs, nunchucks, and the like. —

Matt Ford, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2023 Two officers carrying truncheons run after a protester, who appears to fall, his glasses caught by the camera in midair. —

Alejandro Chacoff, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2023 The truncheon vibrates with each gunshot. —

Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2021 The video images obtained by the Associated Press, both from a security camera inside the studio and filmed by neighbors outside, show three officers following Zecler inside his music studio, where they can be seen repeatedly punching him and beating him with a truncheon. —

NBC News, 26 Nov. 2020 Across the country, Indigenous communities and their allies were blocking roads and facing down the tear gas canisters and truncheon blows of army and police units. —

Alexander Zaitchik, The New Republic, 24 Oct. 2022 The baton that Reagan passed to a new generation became a truncheon in Gingrich’s hands. —

Christopher Buckley, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2022 Not far from where those spokesmen congregate is another image, that of thousands of Afghans running a chaotic gantlet of dangers, including truncheon-wielding Taliban fighters, to make their way to the airport and escape the country. —

Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2021 Visitors are asked to pick up a truncheon (a thick stick carried as a weapon by police officers) to learn what happened next. —

Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'truncheon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.