rapier loom, a shuttleless weaving loom in which the filling yarn is carried through the shed of warp yarns to the other side of the loom by fingerlike carriers called rapiers. One type has a single long rapier that reaches across the loom’s width to carry the filling to the other side. Another type has two small rapiers, one on each side. One rapier carries the filling yarn halfway through the shed, where it is met by the other rapier, which carries the filling the rest of the way across the loom.