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switchblade

switchblade

17 6.6
A small pocket knife with a blade that opens when you press a button
  • noun
  • /ˈswɪtʃˌbleɪd/
  • US
translation icon : navaja automática
  • "I carry a knife," she says, reaching into her left sock and pulling out a black-handled switchblade.
  • switchblade knife
  • pull a switchblade
  • carrying a switchblade

The feeling of a switchblade entering flesh.

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Examples

  • It's against the law to buy or sell switchblade knives.

  • Let me get my switchblade out.

  • I tell Ellen to leave the switchblade at home if she doesn't mind.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Narrator 1: One day, Owen puts a switchblade knife in his pocket and walks into town.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • You got that?" Slick pulled a switchblade from his pocket and opened it with a flick of his wrist.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • All he needed to complete the image was a shiny switchblade dangling from his fingertips.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • He unfastened his backpack and pulled out his switchblade to show his friends.

  • It's illegal to carry a switchblade in schools across many states.

  • The detective found a switchblade hidden under the seat of the abandoned car.

Synonyms

pocketknife
vsswitchblade
9 3.4

A small folding knife that you carry in your pocket

operates automatically by a button rather than by manual folding
switchblade knife
vsswitchblade
  • US
1 5.9

A small folding knife that opens by itself when a button is pressed

is limited to button operation rather than also allowing a lever
flick knife
vsswitchblade
  • UK
8.1

A small folding knife whose blade opens quickly when you press a button

is described more generally without stressing spring action

Surface Forms

switchblade singular
switchblades plural

Morphology

switchblade = switch + blade (transparent) = switch + blade

A straightforward compound: a blade operated by a switch/button, so the meaning is directly derivable from its parts.

Etymology

Switchblade comes from the two parts switch and blade; a switch suggests a quick 'move' or a small thing you press, and blade is the knife part, so a switchblade is a knife whose blade pops open automatically.