mace

1 of 4

noun (1)

: an aromatic spice consisting of the dried external fibrous covering of a nutmeg

mace

2 of 4

noun (2)

1
a
: a heavy often spiked staff or club used especially in the Middle Ages for breaking armor
b
: a club used as a weapon
2
a
: an ornamental staff borne as a symbol of authority before a public official (such as a magistrate) or a legislative body
b
: one who carries a mace

mace

3 of 4

verb

maced; macing

transitive verb

: to attack with the liquid Mace

Mace

4 of 4

trademark

used for a temporarily disabling liquid usually used as a spray

Examples of mace in a Sentence

Verb She maced the man who attacked her.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The figure is a winged warrior who typically prefers her mace. Nick Romano, EW.com, 11 July 2023 Competitors use soft weapons, rather than axes, saws and maces. 4. Ed Fletcher, Sacramento Bee, 25 Jan. 2024 When the strikers held their first march, on Feb. 23, the police attacked them with batons and mace. Steven Greenhouse, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024 Add spices to apples, and mash: After the apples are cooked, stir the brown sugar and mace into the apples until sugar is dissolved. Ronni Lundy, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2023 By the mid-19th century, nutmeg, mace, cloves, cinnamon and ginger became common, and foods such as gingerbread cake, spice cake and spiced pumpkin and apple pies became indelible parts of American food history, Johnson said. Maham Javaid, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2023 Nutmeg comes from grinding the inner seed kernels; its sister spice, mace, comes from grinding the tissue that envelopes the seeds. Serina Desalvio, Discover Magazine, 16 Dec. 2023 Even as trash began to accumulate on city streets, Memphis’s mayor wouldn’t entertain the strikers’ demands, instead sending in police officers with clubs and mace to break up marches. Kurtis Lee, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2023 Weapons like a spiky mace are used against the creatures, but there’s no blood or gore. Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023
Verb
An arriving learned a Mentor man attempted to mace an employee. John Benson, cleveland, 8 Sep. 2021 One such incident saw anti-fascists mace the driver of a pickup truck bearing Trump and Confederate flags who stepped out of his vehicle to confront them. Tim Gruver | The Center Square, Washington Examiner, 30 Mar. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mace.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Old French mascie, macis, from Medieval Latin macis

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *mattia; akin to Latin mateola mallet

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1967, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mace was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near mace

Cite this Entry

“Mace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mace. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mace

1 of 2 noun
1
: a heavy spiked club used as a weapon in the Middle Ages
2
: an ornamental staff carried as a symbol of authority

mace

2 of 2 noun
: a spice made from the dried outer covering of the nutmeg
Etymology

Noun

Middle English mace "a heavy spiked club," from early French mace (same meaning); probably of Latin origin

Noun

Middle English mace "the spice mace," from early French mascie, macis (same meaning), from Latin macis "an East Indian spice"

Medical Definition

Mace

trademark
used for a temporarily disabling liquid that when sprayed in the face of a person causes tears, dizziness, immobilization, and sometimes nausea

More from Merriam-Webster on mace

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!