lunge

[luhnj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lunge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a sudden forward thrust, as with a sword or knife; stab.

any sudden forward movement; plunge.

verb (used without object), lunged, lung·ing.

to make a lunge or thrust; move with a lunge.

verb (used with object), lunged, lung·ing.

to thrust (something) forward; cause to move with a lunge: lunging his finger accusingly.

Origin of lunge

1725–35; earlier longe for French allonge (noun; construed as a longe), allonger (v.) to lengthen, extend, deliver (blows) < Vulgar Latin *allongāre, for Late Latin ēlongāre to elongate

Can be confusedlong longe lounge lunge

Synonyms for lunge

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lunge ON THESAURUS.COM

2. rush, charge, lurch.

lunge

[luhnj]

noun, verb, lunged, lung·ing.

longe.

Origin of lunge

variant of longe < French; see longe, lune²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for lunge

poke, lurch, bound, leap, stab, thrust, cut, spring, pass, charge, jump, swipe, swing, jab, dash, hit, burst, drive, surge, push

Examples from the Web for lunge

Contemporary Examples of lunge

Dawn Hochsprung was a beloved principal who lost her life trying to lunge at the gunman.
Newtown Victims: Dawn Hochsprung, Vicki Soto & More
Nina Strochlic
December 17, 2012
Think like a fencer: parry on Medicare; lunge at the stimulus.
How Do You Win the VP Debate?
David Frum
October 9, 2012
In effect, what I did was lunge and force the issue, thereby ruining the mood.
The Love Guru
Sean Macaulay
September 13, 2009

Historical Examples of lunge

He turned his back, and I saw his body go forward to the lunge.
The Prisoner of Zenda
Anthony Hope
But Gregory's answer had been a lunge which the boy had been forced to parry.
The Tavern Knight
Rafael Sabatini
A third stooped low with his hands on his hips that he might not lose a lunge or a parry.
The Wild Geese
Stanley John Weyman
That lunge over the guard was a thing to be proud of; and, by Jove!
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
It seemed curious to Roger that the burro did not kick nor lunge.
The Forbidden Trail
Honor Willsie

British Dictionary definitions for lunge

lunge

noun

a sudden forward motion

fencing a thrust made by advancing the front foot and straightening the back leg, extending the sword arm forwards

verb

to move or cause to move with a lunge

(intr) fencing to make a lunge

Derived Formslunger, noun

Word Origin for lunge

C18: shortened form of obsolete C17 allonge, from French allonger to stretch out (one's arm), from Late Latin ēlongāre to lengthen. Compare elongate

lunge

noun

a rope used in training or exercising a horse

verb

(tr) to exercise or train (a horse) on a lunge

Word Origin for lunge

C17: from Old French longe, shortened from allonge, ultimately from Latin longus long 1; related to lunge 1

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

Word Origin and History for lunge

1735, "a thrust with a sword," originally a fencing term, shortened from allonge, from French allonger "to extend, thrust," from Old French alongier "to lengthen, make long," from à "to" + Old French long, from Latin longus "long" (see long (adj.)).

1735 (implied in lunged), from lunge (n.). Sense of "to make a sudden forward rush" is from 1821. Related: Lunged; lunging.