a long wooden shaft with a pointed metal head, used as a weapon by knights and cavalry soldiers in charging.
a cavalry soldier armed with such a weapon; lancer.
an implement resembling the weapon, as a spear for killing a harpooned whale.
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.
a lancet.
Machinery.
a tube having a nozzle for cleaning furnace walls and other inaccessible surfaces with air, water, or steam.
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.
to open with or as if with a lancet.
to pierce with a lance.
to cut through (concrete or the like) with an oxygen lance.
to pierce (an abscess or boil) with a lancet to drain off pus
to pierce with or as if with a lance
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English launce, lance, from Old French lance, from Latin lancea (perhaps from Celtic)
First recorded in 1620–30; perhaps special use of lance 1, from its shape
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It felt like that was the last time anyone would bother trying to knock her off,” Lance Dutson, the former consultant for Collins, told me.
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026
The race was then red-flagged because of the track breaking up at the corner where not only Leclerc had lost control but also Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, whose incident had caused the first safety car.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Conoco CEO Ryan Lance recently told Bloomberg that Venezuela still has a lot of work ahead of it to attract oil-company investments.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
In an interview with Variety in April, she explained how her health struggles, coupled with her breakup from partner Lance Armstrong, pushed her to reevaluate her living situation.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Corner of my eye I see Matt and Lance run up behind Calvin.
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
