临 阵 磨 枪

lín zhèn mó qiāngdictionary entry

(lit.) to sharpen one's spear only before going into battle (idiom) / (fig.) to make preparations only at the last moment

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-6ee004bc3b1f38ff. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

臨陣磨槍 临阵磨枪 [lin2 zhen4 mo2 qiang1] /(lit.) to sharpen one's spear only before going into battle (idiom)/(fig.) to make preparations only at the last moment/

Source material and teaching drafts have separate provenance. Long-term commercial licensing remains under review.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

Other forms in these source records: 臨陣磨槍

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

临阵磨枪

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.