pierced

adjective \ ˈpirst \

|Updated on: 26 May 2018

Examples: pierced in a Sentence

Definition of pierced

1 : having holes; especially : decorated with perforations

2 : having the flesh punctured for the attachment of a piece of jewelry

pierced ears

a pierced tongue

3 : designed for pierced ears

pierced earrings

See pierced defined for English-language learners

See pierced defined for kids

Examples of pierced in a Sentence

a tattooed and pierced musician

Recent Examples of pierced from the Web

One sideshow player, a heavily tattooed, pierced and bearded strongman who performs as Titano Oddfellow, 45, landed his role by lifting Mr. McDermott with his teeth during his audition and spinning him around.

— corey kilgannon, New York Times, "From Coney Island Sideshows to an Operatic Debut at the Met," 13 Mar. 2018
At the start of Tuesday's episode, viewers learned that Abby was in serious condition, having suffered a pierced artery after being shot in the chest.

— sandra gonzalez, CNN, "Pauley Perrette bids farewell to 'NCIS'," 9 May 2018
There was El Monkey and El Satanico and El Big Homie — willowy teenagers in the midst of growth spurts, with pierced ears, gelled hair, and skinny jeans.

— hannah dreier, Daily Intelligencer, "The Betrayal of Triste," 2 Apr. 2018
Far-right Northern League leader Matteo Salvini has a pierced ear and a genial, everyman style.

— michael birnbaum, Washington Post, "Who and what to watch in Italy’s election," 2 Mar. 2018
At first, the new customers — as a group, considerably more tattooed and pierced than Pope’s typical clientele — were buying relatively small glass distillation units.

— rick romell, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Legal marijuana brings new sales to Pope Scientific of Saukville," 25 Feb. 2018
One boy suffered a pierced liver after being thrust with one of the 8-to-10-inch knives, narrowly missing his heart and aorta, doctors said.

— new york daily news, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Stabbing attack at Pennsylvania high school injures 22; teen charged," 23 Feb. 2018
The colored, pierced shells themselves are probably not much older than that.

— carl zimmer, New York Times, "Neanderthals, the World’s First Misunderstood Artists," 22 Feb. 2018
The old man beside me with heavily pierced ears and a pointed stick protruding below his lower lip offered me his knife.

— andrew mccarthy, New York Times, "Up Close With the Tribes of Ethiopia’s Imperiled Omo Valley," 30 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pierced.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of pierced

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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PIERCED Defined for English Language Learners

pierced

adjective

Definition of pierced for English Language Learners

of a body part : having a hole that was made so that a piece of jewelry can be worn through it
: having holes made in one or more parts of your body so you can wear jewelry in them