branding iron

American  

noun

1. a long-handled metal rod with a stamp at one end, used for branding livestock, especially cattle, with a registered or recognized symbol or character to indicate ownership.

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Etymology

Origin of branding iron

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

There is a branding iron, a snake hook and an old chuck wagon dinner bell.

From Washington Times • Jun. 7, 2019

Some of those preparations have been permanently seared into memory, and I mean seared like a branding iron on a mindless steer.

From Washington Post • Dec. 11, 2017

Chloé makes much of the fact that it has no curlicue C logo or other branding iron to stamp its product and, by extension, its clientele.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2016

The result was to make the term forever available as a kind of branding iron to be applied from left to right.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 11, 2016

Despite the sun bearing down like a branding iron, the market was crowded that day and sales had been strong—it was only 12:30 but we’d already made $160.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini