as in to stab
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
she deftly harpooned a shrimp with her skewer and held it over the fire
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harpoon
David Matthews, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
While David padded toward the bow where two harpoons lay ready, Kim throttled down and the Theresa slowly, almost silently, moved in behind the cruising fin.
—Pat Smith, Outdoor Life, 24 July 2025
When activated, the harpoon is ejected, penetrates under the skin, and venom is released.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 11 July 2025
Once the lander’s three legs absorb the landing shock, Philae will anchor itself in the comet’s surface by firing two harpoons while using a thruster to counteract the force of the harpoons.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 Nov. 2014
See All Example Sentences for harpoon
Noun
Ali reportedly tried to use a handheld harpoon while trying to access the apartment through the house’s front door before trying to break a window and smash his way inside.
—David Matthews, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
While David padded toward the bow where two harpoons lay ready, Kim throttled down and the Theresa slowly, almost silently, moved in behind the cruising fin.
—Pat Smith, Outdoor Life, 24 July 2025
When activated, the harpoon is ejected, penetrates under the skin, and venom is released.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 11 July 2025
Once the lander’s three legs absorb the landing shock, Philae will anchor itself in the comet’s surface by firing two harpoons while using a thruster to counteract the force of the harpoons.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 Nov. 2014
See All Example Sentences for harpoon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpoon
Verb
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In the Baylor study, participants watched a video of a hand being stabbed with a needle.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Goncalves, meanwhile, was stabbed roughly 38 times, including 24 stab and incised wounds on her scalp, face, and neck, another 11 stab and incised wounds to the chest, and three stab and incised wounds of the upper extremities.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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As the fates would have it, Diemer has had a lifelong obsession with Poseidon, as evidenced by his prominent trident necklace, the iconic emblem and weapon of the sea god.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
11 Dec. 2025
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Hannah and his team also built chariots specific to each Camp Half-Blood cabin, with a trident adorning Percy and Tyson’s (Daniel Diemer) for the Poseidon cabin and a steampunk version for the Hephaestus cabin, among others.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Bird by Bird is generous, charming, and quietly piercing.—
Jasna Hodžić,
Big Think,
29 Jan. 2026
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Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, an 8-year-old in West Baltimore at the time of the murder, offers piercing commentary on the impact of both the initial crime and the succeeding one, the grievously unjust trial that put three kids in the penitentiary.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Using tools only of stone, bone, and shell, Islanders made wooden spears and clubs, and canoes built from planks stitched together with plant fibers and fitted with outriggers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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Other examples of ancient wooden tools include a set of spears from Germany and 300,000-year-old Chinese digging sticks that may have been used to harvest plants.—
Adithi Ramakrishnan,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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One of the bullets struck Boyd in the abdomen, traveled through his body, and ultimately punctured one of his lungs.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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Needles can puncture the walls of veins, causing blood to leak into surrounding tissues.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The retainer then struck her down with a halberd, set the mansion ablaze, and committed seppuku.—
Nicholas Liu,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2024
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Also, his halberd starts fritzing on the floor before fading out of existence, a reminder that this is all virtual reality—or rather, VR within VR, the metatextual framing of Ubisoft’s latest Assassin’s Creed game.—
WIRED,
WIRED,
16 Nov. 2023
Verb
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But the Aztecs had a counterpunch for every Cowboys jab – a Miles Byrd drive that drew two free throws, a jump hook off the glass from Pharaoh Compton, a 3 from Magoon Gwath, a 3 from Taj DeGourville , a jumper in traffic from Dixon-Waters.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Jan. 2026
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Others stuck flagpoles through an open passenger-side window, appearing to jab the suspect.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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While it is widely feared (and often killed on sight) the fer de lance is not aggressive and bites only when threatened.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
7 Jan. 2026
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The shooting spurts of goo, pus, and assorted bodily fluids are not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, but for those who enjoy watching an expert pop pimples, lance boils, and generally improve the quality of her patients' lives, Dr. Pimple Popper is sure to deliver.—
Ilana Gordon,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harpoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpoon. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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