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lunge1

[luhnj]
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noun
  1. a sudden forward thrust, as with a sword or knife; stab.
  2. any sudden forward movement; plunge.
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verb (used without object), lunged, lung·ing.
  1. to make a lunge or thrust; move with a lunge.
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verb (used with object), lunged, lung·ing.
  1. to thrust (something) forward; cause to move with a lunge: lunging his finger accusingly.
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Origin of lunge1

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

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2. rush, charge, lurch.

lunge2

[luhnj]
noun, verb, lunged, lung·ing.
  1. longe.
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Origin of lunge2

variant of longe < French; see longe, lune2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

poke, lurch, bound, leap, stab, thrust, dash, cut, hit, burst, drive, surge, jump, push, charge, plunge, pitch, strike, jab

Examples from the Web for lunging

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It was a long sword, but length is an advantage in lunging at an enemy.

  • I looked up, spotted the latch on the door, and put everything I had into lunging at it.

    Greylorn

    John Keith Laumer

  • Surprised and maddened I sent in another blow, lunging to my full extent.

    The Thorogood Family

    R.M. Ballantyne

  • With a leap he was half way across the room and lunging for his double.

    Daughters of Doom

    Herbert B. Livingston

  • With one eye he gave us a greeting, while he kept the other on the lunging horses.

    A Tenderfoot Bride

    Clarice E. Richards

British Dictionary definitions for lunging

lunge1

noun
  1. a sudden forward motion
  2. fencing a thrust made by advancing the front foot and straightening the back leg, extending the sword arm forwards
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verb
  1. to move or cause to move with a lunge
  2. (intr) fencing to make a lunge
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Derived Formslunger, noun

Word Origin

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

lunge2

noun
  1. a rope used in training or exercising a horse
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verb
  1. (tr) to exercise or train (a horse) on a lunge
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Word Origin

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 lunging

lunge

n.

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.)).

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lunge

v.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper