spearhead
Americannoun
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spearheads
plural
verb (used with object)
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spearheads,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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spearheadssimple
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have spearheadedperfect
-
has spearheadedperfect
-
am spearheadingprogressive
-
are spearheadingprogressive
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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:
Redzepi plans to spearhead a division currently under the working title of Noma UFO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
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
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
He had no way of understanding that Pizarro’s men formed the spearhead of a force bent on permanent conquest, rather than an isolated raid.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
But the teenage sensation still spearheads their team alongside the underrated Oyarzabal, who boasts a one-in-two scoring record for his country and has found the net five times at this World Cup.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Referendums are very unpredictable,” worries Thomas A. Lukaszuk, an Alberta politician who spearheads a counter campaign called Forever Canadian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 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
How is it that we now have intercontinental missiles with nuclear warheads, whereas 30,000 years ago we had only sticks with flint spearheads?
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Integral to the Dukes’ run-stopping was Hendrick, who not only captained the defense, but spearheaded the run support.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Growth was spearheaded by items priced above 3,000 francs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
In response to questions from ProPublica, administration officials insisted the effort spearheaded by HSI was producing meaningful results.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The team is now moving forward with a lineup spearheaded by 27-year-old Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic, who posted on X that he was eager to meet the Lakers' new owners.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
I thanked the assembled nations for exerting pressure on South Africa, citing in particular Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanganyika, who spearheaded the successful drive to oust South Africa from the British Commonwealth.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Even so, Lutnick, who is spearheading the administration’s plan to increase domestic chipmaking, said the administration continued to press Apple to bring more production to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 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
Now secretary of state, Rubio and his office have some involvement in the continuing discussions, but Lutnick and Bessent are seen as spearheading the effort, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 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.
