spearing

[ speer-ing ]

/ ˈspɪər ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spearing ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Ice Hockey.

an illegal check in which a player jabs an opponent with the end of the stick blade or the top end of the stick, resulting in a penalty.

Nearby words

Origin of spearing

1770–80, for literal sense; spear¹ + -ing¹

spear

[ speer ]

/ spɪər /

noun

a long, stabbing weapon for thrusting or throwing, consisting of a wooden shaft to which a sharp-pointed head, as of iron or steel, is attached.

a soldier or other person armed with such a weapon; spearman: an army of 40,000 spears.

a similar weapon or stabbing implement, as one for use in fishing.

the act of spearing.

adjective

spear side.

verb (used with object)

to pierce with or as with a spear.

verb (used without object)

to go or penetrate like a spear: The plane speared through the clouds.

Origin of spear

before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English spere; cognate with Dutch, German speer

Related formsspear·er, noun

spear

[ speer ]

/ spɪər /

noun

a sprout or shoot of a plant, as a blade of grass or an acrospire of grain.

verb (used without object)

to sprout; shoot; send up or rise in a spear or spears.

Origin of spear

1520–30; variant of spire¹, perhaps influenced by spear¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spearing

One main culprit was the hard-shell helmet that had essentially become a spearing weapon.
Super Bowl XLVIII Is Set to Be the Most Violent One Yet|Evin Demirel|January 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Queen Elizabeth I owned forks for sweetmeats but chose to use her fingers instead, finding the spearing motion to be crude.
The Strange Way We Eat: Bee Wilson’s ‘Consider the Fork’|Bee Wilson|October 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The clerk is not writing, and has evidently no other use for his steel pen than spearing flies.
Baddeck and That Sort of Thing|Charles Dudley Warner
They go about curvetting and spearing, and dress themselves fancifully, and they are most courteous-mannered natives.
Up the Country|Emily Eden

But Tom and I could do the spearing, and you could put the eels in the basket.
Dick o' the Fens|George Manville Fenn
That spearing salmon at night interests me, though doubtless the "season" will be over before I visit Carmel.
The Letters of Ambrose Bierce|Ambrose Bierce
I went to the place where the braves were spearing the fish and asked one of them to let me try my hand at the fish-spear.
My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands|George Francis Train

British Dictionary definitions for spearing

spear

/ (spɪə) /

noun

a weapon consisting of a long shaft with a sharp pointed end of metal, stone, or wood that may be thrown or thrust

a similar implement used to catch fish

another name for spearman

verb

to pierce (something) with or as if with a spear

Derived Formsspearer, noun

Word Origin for spear

Old English spere; related to Old Norse spjör spears, Greek sparos gilthead

spear

/ (spɪə) /

noun

a shoot, slender stalk, or blade, as of grass, asparagus, or broccoli

Word Origin for spear

C16: probably variant of spire 1, influenced by spear 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for spearing

spear

n.1

Old English spere, from Proto-Germanic *speri (cf. Old Norse spjör, Old Saxon, Old Frisian sper, Dutch speer, Old High German sper, German Speer "spear"), from PIE root *sper- "spear, pole" (cf. Old Norse sparri "spar, rafter," and perhaps also Latin sparus "hunting spear").

spear

n.2

"sprout of a plant," 1540s, variant of spire.

spear

1755, from spear (n.1). Related: Speared; spearing.

spearing

noun Ice Hockey.

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Origin of spearing

spear

noun

adjective

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of spear

spear

noun

verb (used without object)

Origin of spear

Examples from the Web for spearing

spear

noun

verb

Word Origin for spear

spear

noun

Word Origin for spear

spear

spear

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