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Crossword clues for crossbow

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
crossbow
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
bolt
▪ A small crossbow bolt had been sent smashing into the back of his skull.
▪ At the siege of Drincourt, however, Philip's brother, Matthew of Boulogne, was wounded by a crossbow bolt.
▪ The crossbow bolts and the arbalest have been hidden away.
▪ Another is killed by a crossbow bolt but the only door is bolted and the windows shuttered.
▪ At first they were thought to have been victims of a crossbow bolt.
▪ Where is the proof that I lurked in a church and killed Mandeville's servant with a crossbow bolt?
▪ Remember the angle of the crossbow bolt in the priest's body?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A small crossbow bolt had been sent smashing into the back of his skull.
▪ At the siege of Drincourt, however, Philip's brother, Matthew of Boulogne, was wounded by a crossbow bolt.
▪ Currently, transmitters are planted on whales by shooting them with crossbows from boats.
▪ Foresters passed us, small wiry men carrying machetes and, in one case, a crossbow for shooting birds.
▪ His original longbow was losing its springiness, so he was cutting out the pieces for a crossbow.
▪ One of the crossbows on the wall is magical, but wasn't quite enchanted properly.
▪ The Defence budget would stand buying another catapult tomorrow; my crossbow would just have to wait another week or so.
▪ Thousands of High Elves were cut down by crossbow fire as they waded ashore.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Crossbow

Crossbow \Cross"bow`\ (kr[o^]s"b[=o]`), n. (Archery) A weapon, used in discharging arrows or bolts, formed by placing a bow crosswise on a stock.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
crossbow

mid-15c., from cross (n.) + bow (n.1).

Wiktionary
crossbow

n. A mechanised weapon, based on the bow and arrow, which fires bolts.

WordNet
crossbow

n. a bow fixed transversely on a wooden stock grooved to direct the arrow (quarrel)

Wikipedia
Crossbow

A crossbow is a type of weapon based on the bow and consisting of a horizontal bow-like assembly mounted on a stock. It shoots projectiles called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which were derived from the word ballista, a torsion siege engine resembling a crossbow.

Historically, crossbows played a significant role in the warfare of East Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean. The invention of the crossbow in ancient China caused a major shift in the role of projectile weaponry. The traditional bow and arrow had long been a specialized weapons system which required a considerable degree of lifetime training, physical strength, and expertise to operate with any degree of efficiency. In many cultures, bowmen were considered a separate and superior caste, despite being usually drawn from the common class, as their archery skill-set was essentially developed from birth (similar to many horseman cultures) and was impossible to reproduce outside a pre-established cultural tradition, which many nations lacked. In contrast, the crossbow was the first projectile weapon to be simple, cheap, and physically undemanding enough to be operated by large numbers of conscript soldiers, thus enabling virtually any nation to field a potent force of ranged crossbowmen with little expense beyond the cost of the weapons themselves. In Europe, crossbows became widely used in the early medieval period, and this led to the ascendancy of large mercenary armies of crossbowmen (best exemplified by the Genoese crossbowmen), and the eventual demise of the heavily armored aristocratic knight, as armies became progressively dominated by conscripts equipped with increasingly powerful ranged projectile weapons.

In modern times, crossbows have been largely supplanted by firearms in most roles but are still widely used for shooting sports, hunting, and when shooting in relative silence is an important consideration.

Crossbow (video game)

Crossbow is a video arcade game released by Exidy in 1983. It was later published by Absolute Entertainment for the Commodore 64, DOS and by Atari for the 2600, 7800 and XE Game System starting in 1987.

Crossbow (disambiguation)

A crossbow is a projectile-shooting weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock.

Crossbow may also mean:

Crossbow (TV series)

Crossbow is a 1987 action/ adventure television series that aired on The Family Channel. The series was produced by Steven North and Richard Schlesinger for Robert Halmi Inc., in co-production with French television network FR3, and filmed entirely on location in France.

Crossbow (film)

Crossbow is a 2007 Australian coming-of-age drama film written and directed by David Michôd. The film features Cy Standen, Joel Edgerton, Lisa Chappell and Mirrah Foulkes and had its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival on 9 March 2007. After that, the film competed at number of film festivals and earned good reviews.

Crossbow (proa)

Crossbow was an early 1970s proa (or asymmetrical catamaran) sailboat.

"She was 56ft long, built of cold moulded plywood, with a 60ft mast but only 22 inches wide." The smaller, outrigger hull was 30 ft removed from the central hull.

In 1972 it claimed the record for the world's fastest yacht at 26.3 knots.

Crossbow is still preserved and is owned by Sir Timothy James Alan Colman.

Usage examples of "crossbow".

A lucky fire bolt from the crossbow had set part of its bow and the artemon mast alight.

James said, stooping to the rucksack and pulling out what looked like a thick crossbow bolt with a wicked barbed head.

Crossbow bolts, fired straight out from the castle walls to carry as far as possible, hissed down around the shouting Harpers.

Then he was charging up the road to the castle gates, beard streaming behind him, a few crossbow bolts whistling past.

Itharr said wearily as the Harpers battered their way through another door, stolen shields held high to ward off crossbow bolts or thrown spears from the Wolves waiting beyond.

The only reason Eames would have killed a Darklighter is so that he can use the crossbow to kill a Whitelighter.

In one great bound, the firedrake reached the edge of the woods, some two dozen crossbow bolts hissing and clattering among the trees at their heels.

More crossbow bolts and firepots were smacking down against the stone around them.

Ryld was certain he could pick them off with his crossbow but not if he had to dodge ground troops and firepots at the same time.

The sailor who took the crossbow cocked it by putting his foot through the loop on the forestock and pulling back the ears of the short wooden bow until the cord slipped over the nut of the trigger mechanism.

Then he set the burning bolt in place, laid the forestock of his crossbow on a rock, and took careful aim.

A Horse Stealer could use a goatsfoot to span a crossbow, or even an arbalest, which would have demanded a windlass of any human arm.

Men with ready crossbows guarded the road-gate that let wayfarers into the innyard, and they were not used to regarding folk who came afoot out of the deep forest in a kindly manner.

Many of them, infected and too weak to fight, stood before the walls of Kaffa like ceremonial wretches - beggars of dignity - waiting for a kind Genoese crossbow to deliver them from their sufferings and lay them down with at least enough distinction to undo the blot on their families.

Mamelucos took place, and Father Alfaro, who had been left in charge of the missions on the Uruguay and Parana, was shot by a Mameluco with a crossbow, and fell dead from his horse.