Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small dagger with a slender, tapering blade.
  • noun Something shaped like such a dagger.
  • noun A small, sharp-pointed instrument used for making eyelet holes in needlework.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To strike or wound with a stiletto; hence, in general, to stab.
  • noun A dagger having a blade slender and narrow, and thick in proportion to its width—that is, triangular, square, etc., in section, instead of flat.
  • noun A small sharp-pointed implement used for making eyelet-holes and for similar purposes. Stilettos are of ivory, bone, metal, and other materials.
  • noun A beard trimmed into a sharp-pointed form.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To stab or kill with a stiletto.
  • noun A kind of dagger with a slender, rounded, and pointed blade.
  • noun A pointed instrument for making eyelet holes in embroidery.
  • noun obsolete A beard trimmed into a pointed form.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Sharp and narrow like a stiletto.
  • noun A short sharp knife or dagger-like weapon intended for stabbing.
  • noun A rapier.
  • noun An awl.
  • noun A woman's shoe with a tall, slender heel (stiletto heel).
  • verb To attack or kill with a stiletto (dagger).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small dagger with a tapered blade

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, diminutive of stilo, dagger, from Latin stilus, stylus, spike.]

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Examples

  • She, the episode hints, has her own past secrets, plus a brand-new one that comes when she tests whether the phrase "stiletto heel" is meant literally.

    News - chicagotribune.com 2011

  • She, the episode hints, has her own past secrets, plus a brand-new one that comes when she tests whether the phrase "stiletto heel" is meant literally.

    News - chicagotribune.com 2011

  • October 14th, 2009 Exotic dancer gets trial in stiletto stabbingAKRON, Ohio A woman has been condemned to a year of trial for aggressive a fellow outlandish dancer in a face with a stiletto heel during an Ohio club.

    Archive 2009-11-01 admin 2009

  • Ohio outlandish dancer gets year of trial in stiletto heel conflict upon 52-year-old co-worker

    Former astronaut Lisa Nowak gets 1-year probation in attack on ... admin 2009

  • October 14th, 2009 Exotic dancer gets trial in stiletto stabbingAKRON, Ohio A woman has been condemned to a year of trial for aggressive a fellow outlandish dancer in a face with a stiletto heel during an Ohio club.

    Former astronaut Lisa Nowak gets 1-year probation in attack on ... admin 2009

  • Ohio outlandish dancer gets year of trial in stiletto heel conflict upon 52-year-old co-worker

    Archive 2009-11-01 admin 2009

  • I just wanted to more publicly thank the women in stiletto heels for letting me guest blog.

    Outstanding in My Field | The Stiletto Gang The Stiletto Gang 2008

  • On the way we passed a woman in stiletto heels who was walking like she was trying not to put any weight on her feet.

    murphy's law in action 2007

  • Along with the t-shirt came an honest-to-god, ferreal, 1950s hoodlum, West Side Story, mutherfukkin Italian stiletto SWITCHBLADE!

    whitehelmet Diary Entry whitehelmet 2005

  • 8: 16 PM comments: the girl in stiletto said ... those angels are adorable: D

    Time for This Is: Lauren Thomas 2009

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