lance

1 of 2

noun

1
: a steel-tipped spear carried by mounted knights or light cavalry
2
: any of various sharp objects suggestive of a lance: such as
a
: lancet
b
: a spear used for killing whales or fish
3

lance

2 of 2

verb

lanced; lancing

transitive verb

1
a
: to pierce with or as if with a lance
b
: to open with or as if with a lancet
lance a boil
2
: to throw forward : hurl

intransitive verb

: to move forward quickly

Examples of lance in a Sentence

Noun the lance struck squarely on the knight's shield, knocking him from his horse Verb He had the boil on his arm lanced. doctors used to lance infected sores, so that they could drain clean
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The bomb lances fired from whale guns had an exploding tip that would detonate moments after piercing the whale’s skin. Scott Travers, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024 Huge lances that are not for defense but for ceremony. Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 29 July 2024
Verb
For Shebaa, a postcard-perfect mountaintop village on Lebanon’s southeastern tip, the calamity came around 3 a.m. Friday, when Lebanese officials say two Israeli missiles lanced through the Zahra family‘s three-story building. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024 Sivas begins with apartment blocks and minarets lancing a peach sky shaded with haze. Kurt Johnson, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lance 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lance.' 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

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin lancea

Verb

Middle English launcen, from Anglo-French lancer, from Late Latin lanceare, from Latin lancea

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of lance was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near lance

Cite this Entry

“Lance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lance. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

lance

1 of 2 noun
1
: a weapon consisting of a long shaft with a sharp steel head that was used by knights on horseback
2
: a sharp instrument
especially : lancet

lance

2 of 2 verb
lanced; lancing
: to pierce or cut with a lance or lancet

Medical Definition

lance

1 of 2 noun
: lancet

lance

2 of 2 transitive verb
lanced; lancing
: to open with or as if with a lancet : make an incision in or into
lance a boil
lance a vein

More from Merriam-Webster on lance

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