Stiletto
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A small, slender knife or dagger-like weapon intended for stabbing.
"There the cause of death was soon ascertained; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which, I may tell you, was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom."
- 2 a small dagger with a tapered blade wordnet
- 3 A rapier.
- 4 An awl.
- 5 A woman's shoe with a tall, slender heel (called a stiletto heel).
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- 6 A beard trimmed into a pointed form. historical, obsolete
"The very quaik of faſhions, the very hee that / VVeares a Steletto on his chinne."
- 1 To attack or kill with a stiletto (dagger). transitive
"The recollection of former atrocities by the populace in plundering the city and stilettoing the inhabitants, is sufficiently fresh in the remembrance of the government to serve as an additional stimulus to prevent similar disorders."
Example
More examples"The plump young woman thrust the heel of her stiletto into my big toe under the pretence that I had been too forceful."
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian stiletto. Doublet of stylet.
Related phrases
More for "stiletto"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.