cutlass

C3U1T1L1A1S1S1
/ˈkʌtləs/

noun

A short sword with a curved blade, and a convex edge; once used by sailors when boarding an enemy ship.

Similar
cuttoehangercutlas
OriginMiddle French coutelas ← Old French coutel →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nouncutlass (plural cutlasses)

plural cutlasses

  1. nauticalA short sword with a curved blade, and a convex edge; once used by sailors when boarding an enemy ship.

    She could feel Tern’s stare fixed right between her shoulder blades, and knew he was aching to plunge his cutlass there.

    2015 September 1, Sarah J. Maas, Queen of Shadows, →ISBN
    1 more example

    In vain the captain threatened to throw him overboard; suspended a cutlass over his naked wrists; Queequeg was the son of a King, and Queequeg budged not.

    1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter XII, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC
  2. A similarly shaped tool; a machete.
verbcutlass (third-person singular simple present cutlasses, present participle cutlassing, simple past and past participle cutlassed)

present singular third person cutlasses · participle present cutlassing · participle past cutlassed · past cutlassed

  1. transitiveTo cut back (vegetation) with a cutlass.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
cuttoehanger

nouna short heavy curved sword with one edge; formerly used by sailors

Similar
cutlas
Broader
swordbladebrand

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Frenchcoutel“knife”
  2. Middle Frenchcoutelas
  3. Englishcutlass

From Middle French coutelas, from Old French coutel (“knife”) + -as (augmentative suffix).

More words from Middle French, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian аборда́жна са́бя
  • аборда́жна са́бя (abordážna sábja)a short sword with a curved blade
Catalan alfange, sabre
  • alfangea short sword with a curved blade
  • sabrea short sword with a curved blade
Dutch hartsvanger
  • hartsvangera short sword with a curved blade
Finnish hukari
  • hukaria short sword with a curved blade
French sabre d'abordage
  • sabre d'abordagea short sword with a curved blade
German Entermesser
  • Entermessera short sword with a curved blade
Hebrew חֶרֶב מַלָּחִים
  • חֶרֶב מַלָּחִים (kherev malakhim)a short sword with a curved blade
Hungarian szablya
  • szablyaa short sword with a curved blade
Japanese カットラス
  • カットラス (kattorasu)a short sword with a curved blade
Norwegian huggert
  • huggerta short sword with a curved blade
Polish kord
  • korda short sword with a curved blade
Portuguese alfanje, cutelo
  • alfanjea short sword with a curved blade
  • cuteloa short sword with a curved blade
Russian са́бля, аборда́жная са́бля
  • са́бля (sáblja)a short sword with a curved blade
  • аборда́жная са́бля (abordážnaja sáblja)a short sword with a curved blade
  • теса́к (tesák)a short sword with a curved blade
Spanish sable
  • sablea short sword with a curved blade
Swahili mundu
  • mundua short sword with a curved blade
Swedish huggare
  • huggarea short sword with a curved blade
Welsh cleddyf cwta, cleddyfau cwta
  • cleddyf cwtaa short sword with a curved blade
  • cleddyfau cwtaa short sword with a curved blade
Cite this entry
APA

cutlass. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cutlass

MLA

“cutlass.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cutlass. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cutlass,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cutlass.

Source: cutlass on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.