Meanings
verbput to the sword (third-person singular simple present puts to the sword, present participle putting to the sword, simple past and past participle put to the sword)
present singular third person puts to the sword · participle present putting to the sword
- idiomaticTo severely defeat.
Robin van Persie scored twice as ruthless Arsenal put struggling West Ham to the sword in a match tipped to be Avram Grant's last as Hammers boss.
2011 January 15, Kevin Darling, “West Ham 0 - 3 Arsenal”, in BBC
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo execute, especially by using a sword.
Translations
Finnish surmata miekalla
- surmata miekallato execute with a sword
French passer au fil de l'épée
- passer au fil de l'épéeto execute with a sword
Polish zabijać mieczem, zabić mieczem
- zabijać mieczemto execute with a sword
- zabić mieczemto execute with a sword
Turkish kılıçtan geçirmek
- kılıçtan geçirmekto execute with a sword
Cite this entry
APA
put to the sword. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20to%20the%20sword
MLA
“put to the sword.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20to%20the%20sword. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put to the sword,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20to%20the%20sword.
Source: put to the sword on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.