Meaning & use
dagger
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A short knife with a sharp point and two edges, made for stabbing.
Grammar: Countable: a dagger, two daggers.
Patterns
- a dagger
- with a dagger
- draw a dagger
The museum displayed an ancient dagger with a decorated handle.
He kept a small dagger hidden in his boot.
nouncountabletechnical
A symbol shaped like a cross, used in printed text to show a footnote.
Grammar: Also called an obelisk; usually appears after an asterisk.
Patterns
- marked with a dagger
- a dagger symbol
In the table, items marked with a dagger are estimated.
The footnote is indicated by a dagger after the word.
Word forms
| plural | daggers |
|---|
Common combinations
- look daggers at someone
- She looked daggers at him when he arrived late.
- draw a dagger
- The character draws a dagger from his belt.
- cloak and dagger
- The spy story is full of cloak and dagger moments.
- a dagger through the heart
- The news felt like a dagger through the heart.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: dagger or Dagger?
dagger vs Dagger
Capitalized 'Dagger' can be a surname or a brand name, but the common noun is lowercase.
Practice
What does 'look daggers at someone' mean?
Choose one answer.
'Look daggers at someone' means to glare angrily at them. The other options are literal or unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dagger”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.