carabiner

or kar·a·bi·ner

[ kar-uh-bee-ner ]
/ ˌkær əˈbi nər /

noun

a D-shaped ring with a spring catch on one side, used for fastening ropes in mountaineering.

Origin of carabiner

1915–20; < Austrian German Karabiner, shortening of German Karabinerhaken carbine hook, equivalent to Karabiner (< French carabine carbine + German -er -er1) + Haken hook1; it was originally used to fasten carbines to bandoleers

Words nearby carabiner

cara, carabao, carabid, carabin, carabineer, carabiner, carabinero, carabiniere, caracal, caracalla, caracara

British Dictionary definitions for karabiner (1 of 2)

karabiner
/ (ˌkærəˈbiːnə) /

noun

mountaineering a metal clip with a spring for attaching to a piton, belay, etc Also called: snaplink, krab

Word Origin for karabiner

shortened from German Karabinerhaken, literally: carbine hook, that is, one used to attach carbines to a belt

British Dictionary definitions for karabiner (2 of 2)

carabiner
/ (ˌkærəˈbiːnə) /

noun

a variant spelling of karabiner