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Definition of sword noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

 

sword

 noun
noun
NAmE//sɔrd//
 
 
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  • a weapon with a long metal blade and a handle to draw/sheathe a sword (= to take it out/put it into its cover)
    • Idioms
    be a double-edged sword/weapon
     
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    to be something that has both advantages and disadvantages
    cross swords (with somebody)
     
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    to fight or argue with someone
    the pen is mightier than the sword (saying)
     
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    people who write books, poems, etc. have a greater effect on history and human affairs than soldiers and wars
    put somebody to the sword (old-fashioned or literary)
     
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    to kill someone with a sword
    a/the sword of Damocles (literary)
     
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    a bad or unpleasant thing that might happen to you at any time and that makes you feel worried or frightened From the legend in which Damocles had to sit at a meal at the court of Dionysius with a sword hanging by a single hair above his head. He had praised Dionysius' happiness, and Dionysius wanted him to understand how quickly happiness can be lost.
    turn swords into plowshares (literary)
     
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    to stop fighting and return to peaceful activities
    See sword in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
    Check pronunciation: sword

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