guillotine

[ gil-uh-teen, gee-uh-; especially for verb gil-uh-teen, gee-uh- ]
See synonyms for guillotine on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a device for beheading a person by means of a heavy blade that is dropped between two posts serving as guides: widely used during the French Revolution.

  2. an instrument for surgically removing the tonsils.

  1. any of various machines in which a vertical blade between two parallel uprights descends to cut or trim metal, stacks of paper, etc.

verb (used with object),guil·lo·tined, guil·lo·tin·ing.
  1. to behead by the guillotine.

  2. to cut with or as if with a guillotine.

Origin of guillotine

1
1785–95; named after J. I. Guillotin (1738–1814), French physician who urged its use

Other words from guillotine

  • un·guil·lo·tined, adjective

Words Nearby guillotine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use guillotine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for guillotine

guillotine

noun(ˈɡɪləˌtiːn)
    • a device for beheading persons, consisting of a weighted blade set between two upright posts

    • the guillotine execution by this instrument

  1. a device for cutting or trimming sheet material, such as paper or sheet metal, consisting of a blade inclined at a small angle that descends onto the sheet

  1. a surgical instrument for removing tonsils, growths in the throat, etc

  2. Also called: closure by compartment (in Parliament, etc) a form of closure under which a bill is divided into compartments, groups of which must be completely dealt with each day

verb(ˌɡɪləˈtiːn) (tr)
  1. to behead (a person) by guillotine

  2. (in Parliament, etc) to limit debate on (a bill, motion, etc) by the guillotine

Origin of guillotine

1
C18: from French, named after Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), French physician, who advocated its use in 1789

Derived forms of guillotine

  • guillotiner, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for guillotine

guillotine

[ (gil-uh-teen, gee-uh-teen) ]


A machine designed for beheading people quickly and with minimal pain. The guillotine, which used a large falling knife blade, was devised by a physician, Joseph Guillotin, during the French Revolution and was used as the official method of execution in France until the twentieth century.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.