guillotine

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Consolidation now hangs over the film industry like a guillotine, with job losses likely and the future of the theatrical movie-going experience in question,” Lauzen wrote in her report.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

Though imprisoned after the fall of Robespierre in 1794, David escaped the guillotine and soon returned to his portrait practice and lucrative teaching studio.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

The Sept. 1 protest had “little to no energy,” according to an internal Portland police summary, before federal officers dispersed the crowd to collect a prop guillotine that had been brought.

From Salon • Nov. 14, 2025

If, in 1793, you were going to visit the full-scale model of the guillotine exhibited at S. W. Fores’ Piccadilly print shop, you could hardly miss these merciless cartoons.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025

In A Tale of Two Cities, when the guillotine chops off a head, the sound effects team hacked a cabbage with a cleaver.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow