Meanings
plural carabiners · alternative karabiner
- A metal link with a gate that can open and close, generally used for clipping ropes to anchors or other objects or for slinging gear (equipment) on one's person.
A carrabeener (metal clasp used in rock climbing) inside the pipes was devised as a release out, a tactic lent to them by Greenpeace.
1992 February 2, Jen Wofford, “Activists Protest Price of AIDS Drug”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 28, page 5
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA metal link with a gate that can open and close, generally used for clipping ropes to anchors or other objects or for slinging gear (equipment) on one's person.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan oblong metal ring with a spring clip; used in mountaineering to attach a rope to a piton or to connect two ropes
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- GermanKarabinerhaken“carbine hook”
- Englishcarabiner
Shortened from German Karabinerhaken (“carbine hook”), reflecting that such a link was used for gear slinging even before it was used for rock climbing.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 鐵鎖 /铁锁
- 鐵鎖 /铁锁 (tiěsuǒ)metal link with a gate
Czech karabina
- karabinametal link with a gate
Finnish karbiinihaka, jousihaka
- karbiinihakametal link with a gate
- jousihakametal link with a gate
French mousqueton
- mousquetonmetal link with a gate
German Karabinerhaken
- Karabinerhakenmetal link with a gate
Hungarian karabiner
- karabinermetal link with a gate
Irish crúca cairbíneach
- crúca cairbíneachmetal link with a gate
Italian moschettone
- moschettonemetal link with a gate
Japanese カラビナ
- カラビナ (karabina)metal link with a gate
Polish karabinek, karabińczyk
- karabinekmetal link with a gate
- karabińczykmetal link with a gate
Portuguese mosquetão
- mosquetãometal link with a gate
Russian караби́н
- караби́н (karabín)metal link with a gate
Slovak karabínka
- karabínkametal link with a gate
Spanish mosquetón
- mosquetónmetal link with a gate
Swedish karbinhake
- karbinhakemetal link with a gate
Turkish karabina
- karabinametal link with a gate
Ukrainian карабі́н
- карабі́н (karabín)metal link with a gate
Cite this entry
carabiner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carabiner
“carabiner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carabiner. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “carabiner,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carabiner.
Source: carabiner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.