pierced

[peerst]

adjective

1. punctured or perforated, as to form a decorative design.

   a pendant in pierced copper.

2. relating to or being a body part punctured for the purpose of inserting jewelry.

   From jungle tribes to desert nomads to royalty, pierced ears were indicators of both beauty and social standing.

3. relating to or being jewelry attached through a punctured body part: Nude bellies can be enhanced with pierced navel rings.

   Pierced earrings cannot be returned or exchanged due to hygiene reasons.

   Nude bellies can be enhanced with pierced navel rings.

4. Heraldry.,  (of a charge) open at the center to reveal the field.

   a lozenge pierced.

Other Word Forms

• unpierced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pierced¹

First recorded in 1300–50; pierce, -ed ²

Example Sentences

Santa Margarita’s defense must be pierced for Centennial to win.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When the balloon pierced the fog of the low-lying clouds, the air grew cold and damp.

Read more on Literature

Its lonely, hooting whistle pierced the air, until the children winced and pressed their hands over their ears.

Read more on Literature

“She’s just getting her ears pierced. Don’t people have pierced ears where you’re from?”

Read more on Literature

The first killed the boy; the second whistled past the girl, pierced the ground, and supposedly created the springs.

Read more on Literature

When To Use

What does pierced mean?

Pierced is an adjective that describes things that have had holes made in them by being penetrated or punctured, usually with something sharp.The word comes from the past tense of the verb pierce, which means to penetrate or puncture things in this way. This sense of the word is associated with needles and other thin, sharp objects used to pierce surfaces. To pierce someone’s ear is to make a hole in it with a needle so that an earring can be inserted. This is called a piercing.Pierced is especially used to describe ears and other body parts that have had a hole put in them so that jewelry can be inserted, as in pierced ears, pierced lip, pierced nose, and pierced eyebrow.It can also describe someone who has piercings, as in He was one of those pierced and tattooed guys. Pierced metal is metal that has been perforated with holes, such as to form a design.Example: My ears aren’t pierced—this is just a clip-on earring.