Meanings
noundevil's rope (countable and uncountable, plural devil's ropes)
plural devil's ropes
- countableuncountableMortal sin.
...those who are dragged to the gallows of hell by the devil's rope, that is, mortal sin, and will not confess.
2008, Preaching in the Age of Chaucer: Selected Sermons in Translation, →ISBN, page 29 - countableuncountableAn open branching shrub (Cylindropuntia imbricata) with cylindrical joints, which are covered with short raised ridges like the plait of a rope.
- countableuncountableA variety of cochineal, (Dactylopius newsteadi), used to destroy Cylindropuntia imbricata.
- UScountableslanguncountablesouthwestBarbed wire
The devil's rope was originally designed to keep cows from roaming, Indians from encroaching, and the cowboys from singing their lonesome ballads.
2011, Linh Dinh, Love Like Hate: A Novel, →ISBN, page 94
Cite this entry
APA
devil's rope. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/devil's%20rope
MLA
“devil's rope.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/devil's%20rope. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “devil's rope,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/devil's%20rope.
Source: devil's rope on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.