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crossbow

UK/ˈkɹɒsbəʊ/
nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,966 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: crossbows

A crossbow is a bow set across a stock and fired like a gun. Load a crossbow, a crossbow bolt, shoot with a crossbow.

Its advantage was that it could be held loaded and aimed, and that almost anyone could be taught to use one in a day. Its disadvantage was the slow reload, which is why longbowmen outshot crossbowmen many times over.

L'Arbalétrier · CC BY-SA 4.0

Definitions of crossbow

  1. 1nouncrossbowA bow set across a stock and fired like a gun.B2+

    “A crossbow could be taught in a day where a longbow took years.”

crossbow is a weapon.

Where it comes from

Middle English crosbowe is cross plus bow, from the shape of the weapon.

  1. Middle English

    crosbowe

  2. English, today

    crossbow

From Middle English crosbowe, crossebowe, equivalent to cross + bow.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

crossbow in the wild

  • The Greek crossbow was likely invented independently of the Chinese crossbow.

    Crossbow

  • A bolt or quarrel is a dart-like projectile used by crossbows.

    Crossbow bolt

  • The arbalest (also arblast), a variation of the crossbow, came into use in Europe around the 12th century.

    Arbalest

  • Since the arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force.

    Arbalest

  • A mounted crossbow machine, the oxybeles was used in the 4th century BC.

    History of crossbows

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.