akimbo.
With a crook or bend; with the hand on the hip and elbow turned outward.
Meaning & usage
With a crook or bend; with the hand on the hip and elbow turned outward.
With legs spread and the knees bent in an outward or awkward way, sometimes with the feet touching.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English in kenebowe, in kene bowe (“in a keen bow”, i.e. “in a sharp bend or angle”), from in (“in”) + keen, kene (“brave, keen, sharp”) + bowe (“bow, bend”). Alternately, possibly from Old Norse kengr (“bent”) + bogi (“a bow”), compare Icelandic kengboginn (“bow-bent”).
Into, in, or of the position where the arms are akimbo.
The man was standing akimbo.
Of weapons, especially firearms: one held in each hand.
Although it was a little impractical, Elmer held his revolvers akimbo because to him it looked cool.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English in kenebowe, in kene bowe (“in a keen bow”, i.e. “in a sharp bend or angle”), from in (“in”) + keen, kene (“brave, keen, sharp”) + bowe (“bow, bend”). Alternately, possibly from Old Norse kengr (“bent”) + bogi (“a bow”), compare Icelandic kengboginn (“bow-bent”).
To wield (two weapons), one in each hand.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English in kenebowe, in kene bowe (“in a keen bow”, i.e. “in a sharp bend or angle”), from in (“in”) + keen, kene (“brave, keen, sharp”) + bowe (“bow, bend”). Alternately, possibly from Old Norse kengr (“bent”) + bogi (“a bow”), compare Icelandic kengboginn (“bow-bent”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.