Word.ws English Dictionary

Swiss Army knife

/ˌswɪsˈɑɹmiˌnaɪf/

Swiss Army knife noun: any of a class of multi-function pocket knives or multitools, having a blade and various tools, such as screwdrivers and can openers.

swiss army knife: any of a class of multi-function pocket knives or multitools, having a blade and various tools,...
Image: Jonas Bergsten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

Swiss Army knife (plural Swiss Army knives)

  1. Any of a class of multi-function pocket knives or multitools, having a blade and various tools, such as screwdrivers and can openers.
    • She carries a Swiss Army knife for the convenience of having dozens of small tools handy at any moment.
  2. (broadly, figuratively) A tool or approach that has many functions, one for every perceivable need.
    • This software has been a good Swiss Army knife for us as we rebuild our systems.

Swiss Army knife meaning in Arabic, Persian and Thai

Swiss Army knife in Arabic

type of pocket knife
سِكِّين سْوِيسِرِيّ sikkīn swīsiriyy

Swiss Army knife in Persian

type of pocket knife
چاقوی سوئیسی čǎqu-ye suisi

Swiss Army knife in Thai

type of pocket knife
มีดพับสวิส mêet páp sàwìt

Synonyms of Swiss Army knife

Forms of Swiss Army knife

pluralSwiss Army knives

Origin of Swiss Army knife

From the prominent (although not exclusive) association of this type of knife with officers of the Swiss Army; see Swiss Army knife § History for details.

Questions about Swiss Army knife

What does Swiss Army knife mean?
Swiss Army knife means any of a class of multi-function pocket knives or multitools, having a blade and various tools, such as screwdrivers and can openers.
What is Swiss Army knife in Arabic?
Swiss Army knife in Arabic is سِكِّين سْوِيسِرِيّ (sikkīn swīsiriyy). See Swiss Army knife meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is Swiss Army knife?
Swiss Army knife is a noun.
How do you pronounce Swiss Army knife?
Swiss Army knife is pronounced /ˌswɪsˈɑɹmiˌnaɪf/ (US).
What is the plural of Swiss Army knife?
The plural of Swiss Army knife is Swiss Army knives.

Words near Swiss Army knife in the dictionary

  1. swishly
  2. swishness
  3. swishy
  4. swiss
  5. Swiss Alps
  6. Swiss Army knife
  7. Swiss Army knives
  8. Swiss Army penknife
  9. Swiss Army penknives
  10. Swiss arrow
  11. Swiss arrows

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Swiss Army knife (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Swiss Army knife.wav.

Cite this entry: “Swiss Army knife.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/swiss_army_knife. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.