a clublike armor-breaking weapon of war, often with a flanged or spiked metal head, used chiefly in the Middle Ages.
a ceremonial staff carried before or by certain officials as a symbol of office.
Billiards. a light stick with a flat head, formerly used at times instead of a cue.
a club, usually having a spiked metal head, used esp in the Middle Ages
a ceremonial staff of office carried by certain officials
See macebearer
an early form of billiard cue
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French (compare French masse ) large mallet < Vulgar Latin *mattea; akin to Latin matteola kind of mallet; compare Sanskrit matya harrow
1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from macis (taken as plural) < Middle French < Latin maccis a spice
1965–70; probably from mace 1 ( def. ) (in the sense “clublike weapon”)
You might see the leader of a royal procession carrying a mace, or ceremonial staff. The word mace can also refer to two very different weapons: a long stick with spikes on the end or a chemical irritant that you spray in someone's eyes. Ouch! Ever see a film about medieval knights battling one another? The spiked weapon that some knights used was called a mace — and it could put quite a dent in your skull. Because we’re all much more civilized now, we don’t use iron maces anymore, but police officers and riot police do use a chemical spray called Mace, which has much the same effect. It was invented in 1968, just in time to deal with pesky student agitators and the like. Get that in your eyes and it’ll ruin your day.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The mace, Crown and Elizabeth sword were carried into the chamber in a procession featuring three Team Scotland athletes preparing to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next month.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The effect here isn’t simply to wow us by Hemsworth taking some bear mace to the face or threatening to plummet from a frightening height, although those possibilities also make good TV.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2025
She said her brother was sprayed with bear mace and left the encampment Wednesday morning to wash up in his dorm room.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2024
Evidence includes fishing-net weights; tools made of basalt, a stone that does not naturally occur along this part of the eastern Mediterranean coast; and a ceremonial mace head.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 30, 2024
I was with a boy, Rishi Patel, who was dressed in a costume you commented on—a thick brocade kurta, silk pants, and a hand-painted mace.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
It’s best for everyone, Mace included, that she take a breather to touch grass.
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026
It was a far cry from past confabs, when Kimberly Guilfoyle stood on the main stage praising Trump’s Supreme Court nominees and girls formed long lines to meet Rep. Nancy Mace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Mace serves as the lead principal investigator of the pancreatitis trial.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026
"Three million documents have been released, and we still don't have the full truth," Mace wrote.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
Mace Tyrell had his own candidate for lord treasurer: his uncle, Lord Seneschal of Highgarden, whom men called Garth the Gross.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
A Columbus reporter, Robert Mac Vicar, who was Maced in the face during Ohio State University demonstrations last fall, is suing for $300,000 for violation of his civil rights.
From Time Magazine Archive
The police even victimized a member of the British Parliament, Mrs. Anne Kerr, a vacationing Laborite who was Maced outside the Conrad Hilton and hustled off to the lockup.
From Time Magazine Archive
Q: "What's the best amateur first-aid for persons who have been Maced?"
From Time Magazine Archive
A prince, named Leo Maced, was once accused by a monk of forming a plan to murder his father, the emperor.
From Minnie's Pet Parrot by Leslie, Madeline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
