lance

[ lans, lahns ]

/ læns, lɑns /

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noun

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.

(initial capital letter)Military. 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.

oxygen lance.

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.

verb (used with object), lanced, lanc·ing.

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.

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Origin of lance

1250–1300; Middle English launce<Old French lance<Latin lancea (perhaps < Celtic)

OTHER WORDS FROM lance

lancelike, adjectiveun·lanced, adjective

Other definitions for lance (2 of 3)

lance²

[ lans, lahns ]

/ læns, lɑns /

noun

sand lance.

Origin of lance

Perhaps special use of lance¹, from its shape

Other definitions for lance (3 of 3)

Lance

[ lans ]

/ læns /

noun

a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use lance in a sentence

Jones competed in the Southeastern Conference and attended the Senior Bowl, two proving grounds Lance did not have.
Should Washington draft a quarterback? Make a trade? Stand pat? Five experts weigh in.|Sam Fortier, Nicki Jhabvala|February 19, 2021|Washington Post
On Lance’s request, she reconciled with her former husband and resided with him until his death in 2018.
Pat Loud, early reality TV star as matriarch on ‘An American Family,’ dies at 94|Emily Langer|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
He eventually gets locked up in Chino, where he shares a cell with Billy Lancing, a black pool hustler from Seattle.
Who Stole the Thriller?|Alexander Nazaryan|March 22, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Late to-night Captain Lancing shot himself in the smoking-room of his club.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White

If my deductions are correct, Lancing only borrowed the papers on the distinct understanding that they should be returned.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
I gave the papers to Captain Lancing and Mr. Maxwell, and asked them to see that they were securely placed away.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
But poor Lancing was seriously handicapped by the fact that he had a woman for his antagonist.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
There is not the slightest doubt that she induced Lancing to let her have those papers to copy.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White

British Dictionary definitions for lance

lance

/ (lɑːns) /

noun

a long weapon with a pointed head used by horsemen to unhorse or injure an opponent

a similar weapon used for hunting, whaling, etc

surgery another name for lancet

the sand lanceSee sand eel

verb (tr)

to pierce (an abscess or boil) with a lancet to drain off pus

to pierce with or as if with a lance

Word Origin for lance

C13 launce, from Old French lance, from Latin lancea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for lance

lance

[ lăns ]

lancet

To make an incision in, as with a lancet.

lance

Origin of lance

OTHER WORDS FROM lance

Other definitions for lance (2 of 3)

Origin of lance

Other definitions for lance (3 of 3)

Words related to lance

How to use lance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lance

Word Origin for lance

Medical definitions for lance