wield

CEFRC1

/wiːld/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To hold and use a tool, weapon, or power effectively.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To command, rule over; to possess or own.

Examples

  • Do you know how to wield an epee?

  • It is dangerous to wield an edged tool in such a way.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To exercise (authority or influence) effectively.

  2. To handle with skill and ease, especially a weapon or tool.

  3. To control, to guide or manage.

More examples

In context

  • The question isn't whether AI will reshape human society—it's whether its engineers will wield that power thoughtfully.

  • There was never kyng sauff myselff that welded evir such knyghtes.

  • All is weill done, God wate, weild he hys will.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After months of training, the soldier could easily blank a large sword in combat.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English welden, from the merger of Old English wealdan (“to control, rule”) (strong class 7) and Old English wieldan (“to control, subdue”) (weak). Both verbs derive from Proto-West Germanic *waldan and *waldijan, respectively; and are ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to rule”). The reason for the merger was that in Middle English the -d in the stem made it hard to distinguish between strong and weak forms in the past tense.