harpoon

noun

har·​poon här-ˈpün 

: a barbed spear or javelin used especially in hunting large fish or whales

harpoon transitive verb

harpooner noun

Examples of harpoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nils, for his part, liked to visit this rock with his harpoon. —Brooke Jarvis, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024

Clad in a full steampunk-style deep-sea diving suit, this animatronic also clutches a harpoon with rogue seaweed hanging from the tip. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 24 July 2024

Among the accessories are a revolver, compass, fishing rod, harpoon, spear and, of course, the yellow barrels (see the images below). —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 July 2024

The most recent shows the interior entryway of that house; an umbrella jar holds several walking sticks and two ancient Inuit harpoons with whale-bone barbs; on the wall above them hangs a gleaming nineteenth-century harpoon gun. —Annie Proulx, The New Yorker, 30 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from Dutch harpoen, from Middle Dutch, from Old French harpon brooch, from harper to grapple

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

harpoon

1 of 2 noun

har·​poon

här-ˈpün

: a barbed spear used especially in hunting large fish or whales

harpoon

2 of 2 verb

: to strike with a harpoon

harpooner noun

Medical Definition

harpoon

noun

har·​poon här-ˈpün 

: a medical instrument with a barbed head used for removing bits of living tissue for examination