bayonet

/ˈbeɪəˌnɛt/

Other forms: bayonets; bayoneted; bayoneting; bayonetted; bayonetting

A bayonet is a knife attached to the end of a rifle. This makes the rifle capable of even more violence than before.

This handy extension to the business end of a rifle gets its name from the French city of Bayonne. It's thought to have developed when French peasantry ran out of ammo and stuffed their knives into the muzzles of their muskets. A bayonet makes the rifle more versatile: besides shooting people at a distance, it's now more deadly in hand to hand combat. With a bayonet, you've got a gun and knife in one package.

Definitions of bayonet

1. noun

   a knife that can be fixed to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon
   type of:

   knife

   a weapon with a handle and blade with a sharp point
2. verb

   stab or kill someone with a bayonet
   type of:

   knife, stab

   use a knife on