spearheaded

American  

[speer-hed-id] / ˈspɪərˌhɛd ɪd /

adjective

1. initiated or led (sometimes used in combination).

   Thanks to a recently spearheaded effort by a consortium of wineries, you can now find these fruit wines at your local wine shop.

   The "Solar Street" is a student-spearheaded, 18-kilowatt array of solar cells on the roofs of a row of houses.

2. like a spear or spearhead in sharpness or triangular shape, or in being precisely targeted or aimed.

   The workshop taught me a more spearheaded approach to managing tasks in my business.

   The warriors spread out, adopting a spearheaded formation.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of spearhead.

Etymology

Origin of spearheaded

First recorded in 1800–10; spearhead ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; spearhead ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Meta spearheaded 2Africa with France’s Orange S.A., alongside other companies.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

The Artemis Program, an international collaboration spearheaded by NASA, aims to put boots back on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

The pair also spearheaded other peace talks during Trump's second term.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

A judge recently sided with a legal challenge spearheaded by The New York Times and ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the passes of certain reporters.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

Minimalism had in fact begun to emerge, rather quietly, in the 1960s, but it made a louder entrance in the 1970s, spearheaded by American composers Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• initiate
• launch
• prompt
• spur