Definition of "bayonet"

bayonet

/ˈbeɪənɪt/

noun
plural bayonets
1. (military) A pointed instrument of the dagger kind fitted on the muzzle of a musket or rifle, so as to give the soldier increased means of offence and defence. Originally, the bayonet was made with a handle, which needed to be fitted into the bore of the musket after the soldier had fired.
  Quotations
  Fig. 3. Its bayonet, to be fixed by sticking the handle into the muzzle of the musquet.
  1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page xvi
  “Well, the proper way to kill a man with a bayonet is this: First you thrust it in under the ribs—here.”
  1997, Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; republished New York: Vintage Books, 1998, page 515
2. (engineering) A pin which plays in and out of holes made to receive it, and which thus serves to engage or disengage parts of the machinery.
verb
third-person singular simple present bayonets, present participle bayoneting or bayonetting, simple past and past participle bayoneted or bayonetted
1. (transitive) To stab with a bayonet.
2. (transitive) To compel or drive by the bayonet.
  Quotations
  to bayonet us into a submission
  1774 April 19, Edmund Burke, Speech of Edmund Burke, Esq. on American Taxation, April 19, 1774, 2nd edition, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], published 1775

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