trench knife

noun

1. a short knife for stabbing, sometimes equipped with brass knuckles as a guard, used in modern warfare in hand-to-hand combat.

trench knife

noun

1. a double-edged steel knife, often with a guard in the form of a knuckle-duster, designed for close combat

Word History and Origins

Origin of trench knife¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Word History and Origins

Origin of trench knife¹

C20: so called because such knives were carried by patrols in the Trenches during World War I

Example Sentences

Next came the antitank gunner, clumsy and dense, warning Germans away with a Colt .45 automatic in one hand and a trench knife in the other.

From Literature

Their faces were blackened and they carried trench knives and hand grenades.

From Project Gutenberg

Each carried a trench knife and a revolver, the latter for use as a last resource only.

From Project Gutenberg

They had gathered round a group of ruined farm buildings some seven hundred yards from the American trenches, armed with grenades, revolvers, trench knives, and rifles.

From Project Gutenberg

It took a little time to bind and gag eight men when the bonds and gags had to be ripped from their clothing with trench knives.

From Project Gutenberg