as in stabbing
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
she deftly harpooned a shrimp with her skewer and held it over the fire
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpooning
Verb
-
Police were called to the area by witnesses who reported a woman was actively stabbing a man.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026 -
Delisle pleaded guilty to stabbing his father in April 2025 and lighting the family’s mobile home on fire in the 1000 block of 3rd Street North, according to a judgment of conviction.—
Sally Krutzig,
Idaho Statesman,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The tactic has become more popular with smugglers as police on the beaches try to thwart crossings by puncturing the rafts that groups of migrants have to inflate and carry to the water.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Iranian strikes on the city now appear to be puncturing the cycle, putting pressure on residential and commercial property prices — and on the people whose jobs depend on them.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Alysa Liu captivated the 2026 Winter Olympics stage with fearless self-expression, flipping the script on figure skating style with her frenulum piercing and halo hair.—
Brittany Talarico,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
-
In the video, user Jogatina uses a combination of skills to stab their way upwards, eventually piercing the cloud cover and revealing a breathtaking blanket of stars, complete with constellations and other galaxies.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For a piece in this week’s issue, Dhruv Khullar, a practicing physician and a contributing writer, investigated this growing industry, speaking to the doctors who are tinkering with compounds and the users gamely jabbing themselves in a quest for self-optimization.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Where their debut roars, jabbing with hooks, Two Wheels Move the Soul instead inverts the noise until the sound becomes pillowy and comforting.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
With the Chicago Bears picking toward the end of the first round for the first time in years, their NFL draft scenarios are numerous.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
-
When picking an airplane drink, water is the only one that actually solves a problem.—
Jill Robbins,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Oil the pan Use a neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or grapeseed oil) to prevent sticking and encourage browning.—
Li Goldstein,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Try sticking your head to that.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Harpooning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpooning. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
