sabre

sa·bre
S1A1B3R1E1
UK/ˈseɪ.bə/Canada, US/ˈseɪ.bɚ/

noun

A light sword with a curved blade, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point.

Similar
sabercavalry sword
Less commonScrabble 7

Meanings

nounsabre (plural sabres)

plural sabres · alternative US saber

  1. CanadaUKA light sword with a curved blade, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point.

    Jewan Sadit, who ſtood before the prince, obſerving his youthful temerity, threw himſelf between him and danger, and with a nervous arm, wielding a ſharp ſabre, of the hard tempered ſteel of Damiſk, ruſhing upon the tyger, he ſtruck him acroſs the forehead.

    1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 6
  2. CanadaUKfencingA modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre.

    The country’s fencing federation has officially recognised lightsaber duelling as a competitive sport, granting the weapon from George Lucas’s space saga the same status as the foil, epee and sabre, the traditional blades used at the Olympics.

    2019 February 19, “Lightsaber duelling registered as official sport in France”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2020
verbsabre (third-person singular simple present sabres, present participle sabring, simple past and past participle sabred)

present singular third person sabres · participle present sabring · participle past sabred · past sabred · alternative US saber

  1. CanadaUKtransitiveTo strike or kill with a sabre.

    There lie poor sallow workworn weavers, and complain no more now; women themselves are slashed and sabred, howling terror fills the air; […]

    1843 April 28, Thomas Carlyle, chapter III, in Past and Present
  2. CanadaUKtransitiveTo open (a bottle) via sabrage.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna fencing sword with a v-shaped blade and a slightly curved handle

Similar
Broader
fencing sword

nouna stout sword with a curved blade and thick back

Similar
cavalry swordsaber

verbcut or injure with a saber

Similar
Broader

verbkill with a saber

Similar
Broader
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Hungarianszablya
  2. Polishszabla
  3. GermanSäbel
  4. Frenchsabre
  5. Englishsabre

Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Polish szabla, from Hungarian szablya. Cognate with Danish sabel, Russian са́бля (sáblja), Serbo-Croatian сабља, Sicilian sciàbbula.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ξιφομάχαιρα
  • ξιφομάχαιρα (xiphomákhaira)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Basque sable, sabre
  • sablelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sabrelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Bulgarian са́бя, са́бя
  • са́бя (sábja)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • са́бя (sábja)modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Catalan sabre, sabre
  • sabrelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sabremodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Chinese Mandarin 佩劍 /佩剑, 馬刀 /马刀
  • 佩劍 /佩剑 (pèijiàn)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • 馬刀 /马刀 (mǎdāo)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • 戰刀 /战刀 (zhàndāo)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • 軍刀 /军刀 (jūndāo)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • 佩劍 /佩剑 (pèijiàn)modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Czech šavle, šavle
  • šavlelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • šavlemodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Danish sabel
  • sabellight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Dutch sabel, sabel
  • sabellight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sabelmodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Esperanto sabro, sabro
  • sabrolight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sabromodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Estonian saabel
  • saabellight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Finnish säilä, sapeli
  • säilälight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sapelilight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • säilämodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
French sabre
  • sabrelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
German Säbel, Säbel
  • Säbellight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • Säbelmodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Greek σπαθί, μάχαιρα
  • σπαθί (spathí)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • μάχαιρα (máchaira)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Hindi सेबर, सेबर
  • सेबर (sebar)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • सेबर (sebar)modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Hungarian szablya
  • szablyalight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Icelandic sveðja
  • sveðjalight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Italian sciabola, sciabola
  • sciabolalight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sciabolamodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Japanese サーベル, セイバー
  • サーベル (sāberu)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • セイバー (seibā)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • サーブル (sāburu)modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Korean 군도, 사브르
  • 군도 (gundo)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • 사브르 (sabeureu)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • 사브르 (sabeureu)modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Latin xiphomachaera
  • xiphomachaeralight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Latvian zobens
  • zobenslight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Lithuanian kardas, palašas
  • kardaslight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • palašaslight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • kardasmodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Māori hoari piko
  • hoari pikolight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Norwegian Bokmål sabel, sabel
  • sabellight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sabelmodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Polish szabla, szabla
  • szablalight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • szablamodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Portuguese sabre, sabre
  • sabrelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sabremodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Romanian sabie
  • sabielight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Russian са́бля, ша́шка
  • са́бля (sáblja)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • ша́шка (šáška)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • са́бля (sáblja)modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Scottish Gaelic claidheamh crom, claidheamh crom
  • claidheamh cromlight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • claidheamh crommodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Slovak šabľa
  • šabľalight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Spanish sable, sable
  • sablelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • sablemodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Swedish sabel
  • sabellight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Tagalog sable
  • sablelight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
Turkish kılıç, kılıç
  • kılıçlight sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • kılıçmodern fencing sword modeled after the sabre
Ukrainian ша́бля, ша́шка
  • ша́бля (šáblja)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • ша́шка (šáška)light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point
  • ша́бля (šáblja)modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sabre

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

sabre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sabre

MLA

“sabre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sabre. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sabre,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sabre.

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