What does "polearm" mean?

A close-quarter combat weapon with the main fighting part of the weapon placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood.

What is a synonym for "polearm"?

Common synonyms include: pole weapon, bill, bill, bill[appendix:glossary, pole weapon.

//ˈpoʊlˌɑɹm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A close-quarter combat weapon with the main fighting part of the weapon placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood.
2
a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. wordnet

From pole + arm. The term is of modern provenance, not appearing until the late 1800s.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.