mace

verb

maced; macing

transitive verb

: to attack with the liquid Mace

Examples of mace in a Sentence

She maced the man who attacked her.

Recent Examples on the Web

Video footage of the incident obtained by KQED appears to show the women gesticulating and shouting at the correctional staff before the officers form a line and deploy pepper spray and mace grenades at the group. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026

At any moment, we could be corralled in a mass detention sweep, bound and raped and maced and mauled for committing the crime of simply existing on our land. —Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026

Eight tenants have accused her of bear-macing residents, physical violence, threatening to call immigration officials and failing to maintain basic sanitary conditions. —Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

Dozens of agents swarmed the area along with a military vehicle, Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, told USA TODAY, saying agents used batons and mace on demonstrators. —Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 22 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mace

• ace
• base
• brace
• case
• chace
• dace
• face
• grace
• lace
• pace
• place
• plaice

Kids Definition

mace

1 of 2 noun

ˈmās 

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

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

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

Medical Definition

Mace

trademark

ˈmās 

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