pikestaffs

Definition of pikestaffsnext
plural of pikestaff
as in spears
a weapon with a long straight handle and sharp head or blade pikestaffs were in use from the Middle Ages to the 18th century

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pikestaffs
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Noun
  • The Tofinu took refuge in the lagoons along the Bight of Benin, a core area of the slave trade, venturing forth in canoes with harpoons, javelins, and swords to fight off raiders from powerful nearby kingdoms.
    Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Maria had told us how the cove would have filled with the canoes of the next tribe over, the warriors tattooed head to toe and carrying javelins.
    Peter Heller, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2024
Noun
  • Warhorses charge, lances down, crashing through the tilts as lances break on shields and men topple from their steeds.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pikestaffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pikestaffs. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!