switchblade
noun
switch·blade
ˈswich-ˌblād 
: a pocketknife having the blade spring-operated so that pressure on a release catch causes it to fly open
called also switchblade knife
Examples of switchblade in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The glory days when Vivian Gornick and Ellen Willis were dissecting the gender politics of everyday life, Stanley Crouch was turning cultural polemics into a new form of jazz and James Wolcott was sharpening his all-purpose critical switchblade may have been over.
—
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
During Logan’s preliminary hearing Wednesday, San Diego police Detective Christopher Murray said Logan admitted to committing the homicide with a switchblade.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024
The police noticed a souvenir baseball bat from a Yankees game in the back seat and a switchblade knife in the front console and charged him with weapons possession.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024
The camera panned across a table of offending tops, hovering over Metallica’s Metal Up Your Ass shirt, which showed a switchblade thrusting up from a toilet bowl.
—Matt Thompson, SPIN, 7 Feb. 2024
Certain knife types, such as switchblades, are barred from some states for both open and concealed carry.
—Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 8 Jan. 2024
Within milliseconds, a hand with a switchblade swoops in and slashes a huge gash in the side of the bag before tearing it apart at its seams.
—Elizabeth Paton, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2024
Might that change this Christmas on a wave of appreciation for the man who wrote those wonderful words, then laid waste to them with his rusty switchblade of a voice?
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Earlier that day, a documentary filmmaker followed Sullivan and captured him helping a rioter scale a wall to reach the upper West Terrace of the Capitol, wielding a switchblade knife near the House chamber, and later musing about the Babbitt video.
—Tom Jackman, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
During Logan’s preliminary hearing Wednesday, San Diego police Detective Christopher Murray said Logan admitted to committing the homicide with a switchblade.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024
The police noticed a souvenir baseball bat from a Yankees game in the back seat and a switchblade knife in the front console and charged him with weapons possession.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024
The camera panned across a table of offending tops, hovering over Metallica’s Metal Up Your Ass shirt, which showed a switchblade thrusting up from a toilet bowl.
—Matt Thompson, SPIN, 7 Feb. 2024
Certain knife types, such as switchblades, are barred from some states for both open and concealed carry.
—Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 8 Jan. 2024
Within milliseconds, a hand with a switchblade swoops in and slashes a huge gash in the side of the bag before tearing it apart at its seams.
—Elizabeth Paton, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2024
Might that change this Christmas on a wave of appreciation for the man who wrote those wonderful words, then laid waste to them with his rusty switchblade of a voice?
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Earlier that day, a documentary filmmaker followed Sullivan and captured him helping a rioter scale a wall to reach the upper West Terrace of the Capitol, wielding a switchblade knife near the House chamber, and later musing about the Babbitt video.
—Tom Jackman, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'switchblade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near switchblade
Cite this Entry
“Switchblade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/switchblade. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
switchblade
noun
switch·blade
-ˌblād
: a pocketknife with a spring-operated blade
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