harpoon
noun
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.
harpoons
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pluralof harpoon.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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present tense formof harpoon (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
harpoonnouna 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.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Crew members plowed through ice, buzzed vessels attempting to dump nuclear waste, dodged harpoons, and spent almost a week in a Siberian prison.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
“It’s like harpoons to their heart every time.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
When whaling in North America hit its peak in the mid-1800s, hundreds of ships armed with gun-loaded harpoons set off on hunts in the South Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2022
The only other commercial fleet targeting swordfish off the West Coast catches fish with harpoons but contributes a fraction of the landings produced by gill netting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2021
Both kids held long wooden staffs with iron spear tips, like old-fashioned harpoons.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
