dangerous weapon; lethal weapon; murder weapon
Refers to any object used or intended to cause death or serious injury, especially in criminal contexts. Can also be used figuratively.
The suspect fled carrying a weapon.
The police seized the murder weapon from the scene.
The perpetrator used a knife as a weapon.
The man attacked the store clerk with a weapon.
A weapon was found at the scene.
Even an umbrella can be used as a weapon.
凶器 is the broad legal term for any weapon used in a crime (knives, guns, or blunt objects), while 鈍器 specifically denotes a blunt-force weapon like a club or hammer.
凶器 is a weapon used to harm someone (can be any object, blade or not), while 刃物 specifically denotes bladed tools regardless of criminal use.
刃物 refers specifically to blades or cutting tools (knives, swords), whereas 凶器 is a broader legal term for any object used to injure or kill, which may or may not be a blade.
assembling with dangerous weapons (crime)
Standard modern spelling; used in news and legal contexts.
Rarely used kanji form; 兇 is an older character for 'evil' or 'violence'.
凶 (bad luck, disaster, evil) + 器 (container, utensil). The combination literally means 'instrument of evil' and has been used to refer to weapons used in violent crimes.