truncheon
5
9.0
- noun
- /ˈtrʌnʧən/
- Archaic
:
porra
- During the protest, the officers were instructed to hold their truncheons at the ready.
- police officers with truncheons
- using truncheons
And there was tear gas and police with truncheons and guns and things.
- And there was tear gas and police with truncheons and guns and things.
- You wouldn't need whips or chains or truncheons.
- So if we really want to know what it is, then I'll grab my handcuffs and you pull out your truncheon and let's talk about the police.
Examples
-
They were armed with a watch, a whistle, and a truncheon.
-
The police officer reached for his truncheon when he saw the crowd getting unruly.
-
A colleague with a truncheon stands behind him.
Academic text (1997) -
With a blow of the constable's truncheon, the lock was broken.
Fiction book (1999) -
Three men came into his cell with truncheons.
Fiction book (1994) -
The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready.
Fiction book (1992) -
Protests on August 31st and September 6th were broken up with tear gas and truncheons by security forces, injuring at least 16 people.
Academic text (1990) -
A group of gendarmes militaries rush the Legionnaires, bludgeoning them unconscious with heavy truncheons.
Fiction book (1998) -
The suspect fell to the ground after being struck with a truncheon by the constable.
Synonyms
16
5.0
A short heavy stick that police use as a weapon
16
5.1
A short heavy stick used by police to hit or control crowds
6
8.7
A short heavy stick that police use to control crowds
5
6.7
A short thick stick police carry to hit or defend themselves
5
8.9
A short thick stick that people use as a weapon
4
7.6
A thick heavy stick or club used as a weapon
A short heavy stick that police use to hit or control people
A heavy bamboo stick used by police in India to hit or control people
How Heavy
Surface Forms
Etymology
Truncheon comes from an old French word tronchon meaning 'a piece cut off', and from the Latin root trunc- meaning 'trunk' or 'cut short', like the English word trunk. So a truncheon is a short, thick piece of wood, which is why it became the name for a police stick.