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)

lanced, lancing

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

• lancelike adjective
• unlanced adjective

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

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

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

Mrs. Reilly stuck a finger into the newspaper as if she meant to lance the photograph.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole