pierced

American  

[peerst] / pɪərst /

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.

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

• unpierced
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pierced

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

Example Sentences

In the alcove of the first floor, guests can shop for the Pierced Handbag or Balloon Bag, or head up to the third floor’s sunlit atrium to find jewelry and ready-to-wear clothing.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025

Pierced by winding rivers and dotted with ponds and lakes, the Jiangnan region in China’s lower Yangtze area is famously the home of Shanghai, the country’s biggest city.

From Washington Post • May 19, 2022

Pierced twice, the cat still freed itself from the fence and ran away.

From New York Times • Apr. 25, 2019

It was also Mr. Hardy who gave Dr. Lakra his New York gallery debut, by including him in "Pierced Hearts and True Love," a tattoo show that he organized with the Drawing Center in 1995.

From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2011

Pierced by an immense arrow and dressed in Cluny’s best battle armor, he lay amid the wreckage of the leader’s tent.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques