Definition of pierce
pierced
;piercing
transitive verb
1a : to run into or through as a pointed weapon does : stabb : to enter or thrust into sharply or painfully
2 : to make a hole through : perforate
3 : to force or make a way into or through
4 : to penetrate with the eye or mind : discern
5 : to penetrate so as to move or touch the emotions of
intransitive verb
: to force a way into or through something
piercer
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of pierce in a Sentence
The needle pierced her skin.
The bullet pierced his lung.
The needle pierced into her skin.
The bullet pierced through his lung.
A scream pierced the silence.
Recent Examples of pierce from the Web
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Watch the one that first caught our eye here and enjoy the following slow and fast piercing videos below.
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Alicia’s single-minded pursuit of McBurney stands in stark contrast to the sadness and diffidence that clings to Edwina, whom Dunst, Coppola’s most reliable muse, plays with piercing vulnerability.
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Place them on a baking sheet and roast them until a fork easily pierces them, about 35 minutes for medium-size potatoes.
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Nearly 4 in 10 people born after 1980 have a tattoo and 1 in 4 has a piercing someplace other than an earlobe, the Pew Research Center has reported.
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The bullet that pierced Case's abdomen penetrated part of his intestine just below the stomach.
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Fandino stumbled after tripping on a cape used in a turn to engage and distract the bull, who then pierced the matador’s side with one of his horns, EFE said.
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A couple of this season’s flashbacks work well—learning about Alison and her struggles with plural marriage is interesting, the scene in which Janae watches a white high-school girl perform DreamGirls and is angered to tears is piercing—
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This is more than enough to pierce the armor of a V-150 armored car, which is designed to stop bullets with a diameter of 7.62-millimeters or smaller.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pierce.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Synonym Discussion of pierce
Pierce
playDefinition of Pierce
Franklin 1804–1869 14th president of the U.S. (1853–57)
PIERCE Defined for English Language Learners
pierce
playDefinition of pierce for English Language Learners
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: to make a hole in or through (something)
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: to go through or into (something) in a forceful or noticeable way
PIERCE Defined for Kids
pierce
playDefinition of pierce for Students
pierced
;piercing
1 : to make a hole in or through or as if in or through I had my ears pierced. A stab of fear pierced his heart.
2 : to force or make a way into or through The sunshine pierced through their faded dresses … — Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie
Law Dictionary
pierce
Legal Definition of pierce
pierced
piercing
: to see through the usually misleading or false appearance of the object of summary judgment is to pierce the pleadings and allow a judgment on the merits — J. H. Friedenthal et al. the Internal Revenue Service may attempt to pierce the plain meaning of the agreement — W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.
pierce the corporate veil
: to disregard the corporate entity and reach the personal assets of the corporation's controlling parties : hold the controlling parties (as officers or shareholders) of a corporation personally liable for wrongful acts or debts of the corporation a…creditor in New York cannot pierce the corporate veil solely on grounds of inadequate capitalization — R. C. Clark — compare corporate immunity at immunity
Additional Notes on pierce
An action to pierce the corporate veil is usually grounded on the corporation's being an instrumentality or alter ego of the officers or shareholders and on some misuse (as fraud) of the officers' or shareholders' control over the corporation.
Learn More about pierce
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See words that rhyme with pierce Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pierce Spanish Central: Translation of pierce Nglish: Translation of pierce for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pierce for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
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