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• lance
  lance

  noun

  a long wooden shaft with a pointed metal head, used as a weapon by knights and cavalry soldiers in charging.
• Lance
  Lance

  noun

  a male given name.

lance

¹ American  

[lans, lahns] / læns, lɑns /

noun

1. a long wooden shaft with a pointed metal head, used as a weapon by knights and cavalry soldiers in charging.

2. a cavalry soldier armed with such a weapon; lancer.

3. an implement resembling the weapon, as a spear for killing a harpooned whale.

4. Military. Lance, a U.S. Army surface-to-surface rocket with a range of 47 miles (75 km) and capable of carrying a tactical nuclear warhead.

5. a lancet.

6. oxygen lance.

7. Machinery.

   1. a tube having a nozzle for cleaning furnace walls and other inaccessible surfaces with air, water, or steam.

   2. a pipe for directing oxygen onto a heated metal object in order to burn a hole in it, the lance also being consumed so as to add to the heat.

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verb (used with object)

• lances,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lanced,
  past participle,  past
• lancing
  present participle

1. to open with or as if with a lancet.

2. to pierce with a lance.

3. to cut through (concrete or the like) with an oxygen lance.

lance ² American  

[lans, lahns] / læns, lɑns /

noun

1. sand lance.

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Lance ³ American  

[lans] / læns /

noun

1. a male given name.

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lance British  

/ lɑːns /

noun

1. a long weapon with a pointed head used by horsemen to unhorse or injure an opponent

2. a similar weapon used for hunting, whaling, etc

3. surgery another name for lancet

4. the sand lance See sand eel

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verb

1. to pierce (an abscess or boil) with a lancet to drain off pus

2. to pierce with or as if with a lance

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lancelike
  adjective
• unlanced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• lancing
  present
• lanced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lance
  simple
• lances
  simple
• have lanced
  perfect
• has lanced
  perfect
• am lancing
  progressive
• are lancing
  progressive
• is lancing
  progressive
• have been lancing
  perfect progressive
• has been lancing
  perfect progressive

Past

• lanced
  simple
• had lanced
  perfect
• was lancing
  progressive
• were lancing
  progressive
• had been lancing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lance
  simple
• will have lanced
  perfect
• will be lancing
  progressive
• will have been lancing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of lance¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English launce, lance, from Old French lance, from Latin lancea (perhaps from Celtic)

Origin of lance²

First recorded in 1620–30; perhaps special use of lance ¹, from its shape

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Explanation

A warrior during the Middle Ages most often carried a lance, or a long, pointed spear, as a weapon. Throughout history, soldiers mounted on horseback have often carried some variation of a lance — something long and sharp for jabbing at enemy warriors. Lances were carried as far back as ancient Roman armies and as recently as Plains Indians after they were introduced to horses in the eighteenth century. The Latin root word, lancea , means "light spear" or "Spanish spear."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lance Lance lances lanced lancing

The scene that best defines the story’s idealism happens long before Dunk gets clunked in the head or skewered by a lance.

From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026

Saint George is widely known as Christianity's most famous dragon slayer and is commonly depicted as a warrior holding a lance.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026

Two opposing galaxies play the role of knights, with one galaxy pointing a lance made of pure radiation right at the other!

From Space Scoop ● May 21, 2025

Davis was just promoted to lance corporal on Jan. 1, having enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2019.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2024

My arms were so thin that when I lowered my lance it was all I could do to keep the point from jurrowing the ground.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, has been projected to win the governor's race in Georgia, becoming the first black governor and first woman to be elected to the state's highest office.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Audiences who saw Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s hit documentary “You Can See Everything” may have left the theater with a few questions about Elizabeth Holmes and her longtime partner Billy Evans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

They often deliver dividend yields in the high single digits, says Lance Roberts, chief investment strategist at RIA Advisors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

The three-hour A24 documentary, co-directed by comedian Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, earned $10.6 million in the United States and Canada, Exhibitor Relations said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Nancy expected Lance to be mad, but instead he smiled.

From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene

The videos on social media showed them dressed as knights in armour, complete with chainmail and lances, attempting to knock each other off the bikes.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Farther away, at the Glogow smelter, two workers in protective suits, armed with long lances, open huge furnaces where the ore is melted.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

Unlike his two friends, Mr. Spielberg didn’t want to tilt lances at the studios, make great art or change the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

Sunlight lances through the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Silver Lake Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024

They would have made good time, but armored destriers and twelve-foot lances would avail them little against the deep waters of the Blackwater Rush and the high stone walls of the city.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

They fell often, lanced their hands on spiked trees, dragged boots filled with mud and at times collapsed from exhaustion.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023

She later confessed that the stress of stardom caused her to develop a "boil on the bum" that had to be lanced hours before performing live on Dutch TV.

From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2022

As the name suggests, Ravi specializes in kebabs, and you can view the options in the refrigerated case, each lanced on a skewer and ready for a trip to the charcoal grill.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 18, 2019

This was Luttwak’s specialism on display: the sudden flex of expertise, the pinpoint detail lanced across the room.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 9, 2015

It seemed to break from scummy bubbles lanced by the sun, and drift downwind, getting thicker.

From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye

For them to catch fire, he says “it would take some spectacular lancing of the actual cells themselves, which would mean going through a very strong external structure”.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2024

And there were plenty of lancing words about Chislett’s leadership.

From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2020

Alan Simpson, the former senator from Wyoming, brought an acute understanding of Washington’s foibles, and a reputation for lancing humor, to the task of remembering his friend.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 6, 2018

Hailee Steinfeld stars as Nadine, a beguiling blend of charisma, lancing intelligence, and hostile insecurity.

From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2016

Because she was heavily sedated, Pita slept through the lancing and compressing and didn’t come back around until Abuelita Remedios was done wrapping her leg with a pale thin gauze.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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