spearhead

[speer-hed]

noun

1. the sharp-pointed head that forms the piercing end of a spear.

2. any person, contingent, or force that leads an attack, undertaking, etc..

   Cuba was the spearhead of the independence movement within Latin America.

verb (used with object)

1. to lead or initiate (an undertaking).

   She is spearheading an ambitious research project whose results may be used by NASA.

   Synonyms: pioneer, initiate, start, lead

spearhead

/ ˈspɪəˌhɛd /

noun

1. the pointed head of a spear

2. the leading force in a military attack

3. any person or thing that leads or initiates an attack, a campaign, etc

verb

1. (tr) to lead or initiate (an attack, a campaign, etc)

Word History and Origins

Origin of spearhead¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; spear ¹, head

Example Sentences

“It really looks like all of these components are important, and the whole is more than the sum of its parts,” says Jonathan Matzinger, who helped spearhead the research in Bern.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Those efforts have accelerated as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spearheaded a push for deeper changes, in a bid to tackle Americans’ chronic health problems.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

For Gabriel, who was first elected in 2018, the Real Food, Healthy Kids Act marks the third food-related law he has spearheaded.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Its Vision 2023 plan, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, includes funnelling money into sectors such as tourism, entertainment, and sports.

Read more on BBC

Starting in 2019, Jason Hodin, a senior research scientist at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories, spearheaded an effort to see whether the hefty stars could be raised in captivity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• initiate 
• launch 
• prompt 
• spur