double-edged
Americanadjective
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having two cutting edges, as a razor blade.
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capable of acting two ways or having opposite effects.
a double-edged argument.
adjective
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acting in two ways; having a dual effect
a double-edged law
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(of a remark, argument, etc) having two possible interpretations, esp applicable both for and against or being really malicious though apparently innocuous
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(of a sword, knife, etc) having a cutting edge on either side of the blade
Etymology
Origin of double-edged
First recorded in 1545–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gellar wields a double-edged sword: “Buffy” helped shape the landscape of modern TV, but it’s because the show was and is so popular that the role sticks to her no matter where she goes.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
AI enters a culture already sliced and diced by the double-edged sword of digital technology.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Strategic ambiguity, if that’s what this is, can be a double-edged sword.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
“Supplying the hyperscale datacenter is a double-edged sword,” TD Cowen analyst Sean O’Loughlin wrote following the earnings results.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 11, 2026
With a long-handled, double-edged axe, he split fence rails from massive cedar logs that washed down the Dungeness in the spring.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
