lancet
Americannoun
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lancets
plural
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a small surgical instrument, usually sharp-pointed and two-edged, for making small incisions, opening abscesses, etc.
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Architecture.
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a lancet arch.
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noun
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Also called: lance. a pointed surgical knife with two sharp edges
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short for lancet arch lancet window
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lancet
1375–1425; late Middle English lancette < Middle French. See lance 1, -et
Explanation
The noun lancet describes a small, double-edged surgical knife used to make incisions. A lancer is a soldier bearing a long spear, called a lance, while a lancet is like a tiny spear — sharp on two sides and meant to pierce things. And though a soldier could wield a lancet, it's more likely to be used by a surgeon. A lancet arch is an architectural term used to describe an arch that peaks at the top. Most buildings with lancet arches are not places where you’d use a lancet, though.
Vocabulary lists containing lancet
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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.
See Examples For:
With one lancet left, I enlisted the services of my photographer-turned-nurse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
A disposable lancet must pierce the skin, before drops of blood can be sucked into a pipette, mixed with a chemical and placed in the test cassette.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025
That's the reality for ants infected with the lancet liver fluke, a tiny parasitic flatworm.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2023
Volunteers used a lancet to prick their fingertip and squeeze out droplets of blood that they deposited into sampling devices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2021
“We have no benefit of lancet or fleam.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
The installation will cover four window sections, or lancets, that are six feet tall and one-and-a-half-feet wide.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2021
In 1805, their lobbying led the Vaccine Pock Institute in London to quiz Jesty about his experiment and he was presented with a scroll and gold lancets.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2021
But her diabetes test strips and lancets cost $120 for a three-month supply.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2018
The lancets used to prick fingers pose another problem.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 7, 2018
"I have lancets, tourniquets, and anti-venom in my tent."
From Quick Action by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
