harpoon

[ hahr-poon ]
See synonyms for harpoon on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a barbed, spearlike missile attached to a rope, and thrown by hand or shot from a gun, used for killing and capturing whales and large fish.

  2. Harpoon, Military. a jet-powered, radar-guided U.S. Navy cruise missile with a high explosive warhead designed for use against surface ships and launchable from a surface vessel, submerged submarine, or aircraft.

verb (used with object)
  1. to strike, catch, or kill with or as if with a harpoon.

Origin of harpoon

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Dutch harpoen, ultimately derived from Old French harpon “a clasp, brooch,” equivalent to harp- (from Latin harpē, from Greek: “hook”) + -on diminutive suffix

Other words from harpoon

  • har·poon·er, noun
  • har·poon·like, adjective

Words Nearby harpoon

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How to use harpoon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for harpoon

harpoon

/ (hɑːˈpuːn) /


noun
    • a barbed missile attached to a long cord and hurled or fired from a gun when hunting whales, etc

    • (as modifier): a harpoon gun

verb
  1. (tr) to spear with or as if with a harpoon

Origin of harpoon

1
C17: probably from Dutch harpoen, from Old French harpon clasp, from harper to seize, perhaps of Scandinavian origin

Derived forms of harpoon

  • harpooner or harpooneer, noun
  • harpoon-like, adjective

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