spearhead
Americannoun
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spearheads
plural
verb (used with object)
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spearheads,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spearheaded,
past participle, past
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spearheading
present participle
noun
-
the pointed head of a spear
-
the leading force in a military attack
-
any person or thing that leads or initiates an attack, a campaign, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
spearheadsimple
-
spearheadssimple
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have spearheadedperfect
-
has spearheadedperfect
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am spearheadingprogressive
-
are spearheadingprogressive
-
is spearheadingprogressive
-
have been spearheadingperfect progressive
-
has been spearheadingperfect progressive
Past
-
spearheadedsimple
-
had spearheadedperfect
-
was spearheadingprogressive
-
were spearheadingprogressive
-
had been spearheadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spearhead
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; see origin at spear 1, head
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He saw France win the World Cup twice, and the emergence of current spearhead Mbappe - one of the men who could take his iconic record.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
OpenAI bought that company, io Products, in 2025 to spearhead its own device development efforts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Mookie Betts stayed hot with his bases-loaded, two-run single off Padres starter Michael King to spearhead a three-run rally in the fifth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
The UN secretary general created the task force in March to spearhead a mechanism to allow fertilisers and related raw materials such as ammonia, sulphur and urea through the strait.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
A caveman owned one spearhead or many spearheads; he had eaten one crushed lizard or many crushed lizards.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
The empire’s signature advance for 1944, though not stopped, had been slowed, its spearheads blunted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
"If anyone is going to be the one that spearheads getting rid of abusive cops? Sign me up," Langley said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
There may never be a better chance to snap the long winless streak with the hosts' pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood injured and out of at least the first Test.
From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025
They discovered that the oldest known archaeological remains in North America — stone spearheads known as Clovis points — dated to the end of the ice age, suggesting that their arrival coincided with the extinctions.
From New York Times ● Dec. 4, 2024
A caveman owned one spearhead or many spearheads; he had eaten one crushed lizard or many crushed lizards.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
But the attention unsettled Jung, who spearheaded the campaign but has since requested anonymity - we are using a pseudonym.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Earlier this year he spearheaded a consortium who attempted to acquire a controlling stake in his former club Sevilla but the bid failed.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Diplomatic efforts, spearheaded by mediators including Pakistan and Qatar, have tried for months to bring an end to the war to no avail.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
After his son’s death, the Republican lawmaker spearheaded legislation in 2023 that made sexual extortion a felony offense in South Carolina and has advocated for online safety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
As part of their expedition in 1990, Rob Hall and Gary Ball spearheaded an effort that removed five tons of garbage from Base Camp.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
She played a pivotal role in spearheading some of the most influential and successful women’s rights efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Ghana has been spearheading a global campaign for institutions and nations across the world that benefitted from the slave trade to pay reparations.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
He began his career in digital marketing and his first roles in government were spearheading online services for citizens, including the country's now‑ubiquitous state services app Diia.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
The two will be working on the development of Meow Wolf New York, which is slated to open some time after Los Angeles, and are collaborating on a planned animated series, which Prynoski is spearheading.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
He is now spearheading a drive to outsource low-end Japanese jobs to Japanese-speaking call centers and service providers in China.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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.
