switchblade

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switchblade

/ˈswɪt͡ʃˌbleɪd/

Where it comes from

From switch + blade.

noun switchblades · switch blade · switch-blade

A folding knife with a blade which opens automatically (under spring pressure) when a button is pressed.

verb switchblades · switchblading · switchbladed · switch blade · switch-blade

transitive To attack or cut with a switchblade. I got terrible hangovers from the cheap booze; and, one night, I almost got switchbladed when I put my arm around the wrong "lady of the night.
intransitive To spring open or up. Switchblading open their silvery cell phones, they call their mortgage brokers and say “Buy.”
ambitransitive To (cause to) make a sudden move or transition. He briefly rocked medical school, switchbladed to accounting and finally joked his first radio script in 1938.

Translations

Every language

noun type of folding knife

Español	navaja automática, cuchillo automático
日本語	飛び出しナイフ
中文	彈簧刀 /弹簧刀 tánhuángdāo
Français	couteau à cran d'arrêt
Deutsch	Springmesser

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Cite this

MLA

"switchblade." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/switchblade. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

switchblade. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/switchblade

Chicago

"switchblade." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/switchblade.

BibTeX

@misc{switchblade_2026,
  title = {switchblade},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/switchblade},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}