as in to stab
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
doctors used to lance infected sores, so that they could drain clean
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lance
Kelly Devries, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2012
Multiply the rain’s lances, multiply their ruin, the grace born from subtraction as the hold’s iron door
rolled over their eyes like pots left out in the rain,
and the bolt rammed home its echo, the way that thunder-
claps perpetuate their reverberation.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024
Friday, when Lebanese officials say two Israeli missiles lanced through the Zahra family‘s three-story building.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lance
Noun
Religious icons often depict Saints George and Michael defeating dragons, by lance and feet, respectively.
—Kelly Devries, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2012
Multiply the rain’s lances, multiply their ruin, the grace born from subtraction as the hold’s iron door
rolled over their eyes like pots left out in the rain,
and the bolt rammed home its echo, the way that thunder-
claps perpetuate their reverberation.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Verb
But an Israeli missile lanced through his house, killing the 23 people inside, including more than a dozen women and two children.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024
Friday, when Lebanese officials say two Israeli missiles lanced through the Zahra family‘s three-story building.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lance
Noun
-
Pricing transparency, proactive maintenance, and real-time updates are merely the tip of the spear.—
Ilona Limonta-Volkova,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
-
Originally conceived as a way to demonstrate the program’s efficacy by putting its strongest athletes to the test, the Games represent the tip of the CrossFit spear.—
Calum Marsh,
Rolling Stone,
14 June 2025
Verb
-
Early morning stabbing in Downtown Pittsburgh sends one person to hospital Food & Drink Product Recall Walmart Kroger Mary Cunningham Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
18 June 2025
-
Investigators believe the incident occurred during a domestic dispute, and the man may have been stabbed in self-defense.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 June 2025
Noun
-
Tristan Dion, javelin, Pine Crest junior: Beat out friend and senior teammate Sean Nagle’s school record in the javelin by throwing 47.88 meters at the 2A state meet and finished 10th; also played tennis and football for the Panthers.—
Gary Curreri,
Sun Sentinel,
20 June 2025
-
The decathlon will be contested Wednesday, June 11 (100, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400), and Thursday, June 12 (110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1,500).—
Rachel Roberts,
Idaho Statesman,
10 June 2025
Verb
-
At his best, Towns shoots like an archer, drives to the hoop like a rugby bruiser, and glides on his pivot foot, one smooth semicircle after another, like a grade-school protractor with its point puncturing the paper.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
-
The dura can be damaged from head injuries or punctured during surgical procedures involving the sinuses, brain or spine, such as lumbar puncture, epidurals, spinal anesthesia or myelogram.—
Danielle Wilhour,
The Conversation,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
In a completely spontaneous decision, Flom sat down and got one of his ears pierced with a sparkling stud, and Haven’s reaction was priceless.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
15 June 2025
-
She was never seen alive again A handsome stranger with piercing blue eyes asked them for rides.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
Verb
-
The 45-year-old victim was jabbed once by an assailant around 6:29 p.m. on Laconia Ave.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2025
-
Glasner quite frequently does a sort of pointy thing, jabbing his finger at the south London air, when Crystal Palace score.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
11 May 2025
Verb
-
These kids would be walking around down the road and the F.B.I. would pick them up and take them down to the jail to be interrogated, then tell them to walk home.—
Nick Estes,
New Yorker,
26 June 2025
-
Since its Sundance debut, the film has played many festivals, from Cannes to Independent Film Festival Boston, which picked Sorry, Baby as the capstone for this year’s edition of the fest.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
Jeannot didn’t stick in Tampa and has never come close to matching that one wild season, in part because his opportunity, both with the Lightning and the Kings, plummeted.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
-
And while other candidates have brought up the allegations and hit at Cuomo's record, no one attack seems to be sticking, and polling shows that Cuomo remains the front-runner.—
Oren Oppenheim,
ABC News,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lance. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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