javelin

American  

[jav-lin, jav-uh-] / ˈdʒæv lɪn, ˈdʒæv ə- /

noun

javelins plural

1. a light spear, usually thrown by hand.

2. Track.

   1. a spearlike shaft about 8½ feet (2.7 meters) long and usually made of wood, used in throwing for distance.

   2. Also called javelin throw.  a competitive field event in which the javelin is thrown for distance.

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verb (used with object)

1. to strike or pierce with or as if with a javelin.

javelin British  

/ ˈdʒævlɪn /

noun

1. a long pointed spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events

2. the event or sport of throwing the javelin

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Usage

What does javelin mean? A javelin is the pointed, spearlike pole used in the track-and-field event known as javelin or the javelin throw—in which athletes compete to throw it as far as they can. The javelin event is one of the “field” events in track and field, which also include other events in which objects are thrown as far as possible, namely discus and shot put. All three are events in the summer Olympic Games (the Summer Games) and are also events in the modern decathlon. The word javelin also refers to the ancient throwing spear on which the javelin used in the athletic event is based. Its original military use is referenced in the name of an U. S. military missile system known as Javelin. Example: I’m training for the javelin and shot put with my track-and-field team.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• javelins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of javelin

1505–15; < Middle French javeline, by suffix alteration from javelot, Anglo-French gavelot, gaveloc, probably < Old English gafeluc, *gafeloc ≪ British Celtic *gablākos presumably, a spear with a forklike head; compare MIr gablach forked branch, javelin, MWelsh gaflach (apparently < OIr), derivative of Old Irish gabul fork, forked branch, cognate with Old Breton gabl, Welsh gafl

Explanation

A javelin is a sharp-tipped, lightweigh throwing spear that's used in sporting events. The javelin throw is an event in the Olympics. Historically, the javelin was used as a weapon. African and Zulu tribes have used javelins, as well as Welsh fighters and ancient Roman Empire and Anglo-Saxon soldiers. More recently, javelins are simply thrown for sport. The Middle French javeline is a diminutive form of the Old French javelot, or "spear." The ultimate root is probably the Proto-Indo-European word ghabholo, "a fork or branch of a tree."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

javelin javelins

“My goal was to for the gold first, then the mark,” said Massey, who will continue throwing at Oregon and may even compete in hammer and javelin.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

Look no further than shortstop Mookie Betts this week lauding the effects of throwing a javelin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

It’s like golf, except a player can’t javelin his clubs into a water hazard or pitch a 15-pound orb across six alleys, even if he could.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

Brits was a world champion javelin thrower in her youth before a road accident curtailed that career.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2025

“They measure the distance when they throw the javelin, don’t they?”

From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz

On a grass field near the players’ parking lot, he watched Yamamoto throw javelins as part of his workout routine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025

Perhaps harassed by Neanderthals throwing wooden javelins, the angle of the injury shows the lion was lying on its side when the killing blow came.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 11, 2023

Scaffolding supports large depictions of hands, as well as javelins “which go through the hands like a needle at giant scale, representing acupuncture pressure points,” Tajima said.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2022

They came loaded with balls of cotton, parrots, javelins, and other things too numerous to mention; these they exchanged for whatever we chose to give them.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2019

Despite the javelins pointed at me, it wasn’t the bear twins who scared me.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan