Synonyms for lance

Most common

pierce · shaft · spear · javelin · fish gig · fiz-gig · knife · lancet

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

Verb

Definitions

1. n. 1

   A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.

2. n. 2

   A wooden spear, sometimes hollow, used in jousting or tilting, designed to shatter on impact with the opposing knight’s armour.

3. v. 1

   To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.

Related words

Word family

lancefish lance-knight lancelike lanceman lancer lancet

Phrases

sand lance break a lance thermal lance free-lance fire lance lance rest oxygen lance thermic lance

Forms

Plural

lances → spears, pierces, javelins, cuts…

Past participle

lanced
e.g. lanced → darted, launched, hurled, thrun…

Example sentences

• pierce Ordinary arrows can't pierce the dragon's scales.
• shaft From here, you can look down the elevator shaft.
• spear The tip of the spear was dipped in a deadly poison.
• javelin I wouldn't want to have a javelin thrown at me.

Popularity over time

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters

cut¹, gig¹, peg¹, lob¹

4 letters

toss¹, dart¹, hurl¹

5 letters

throw¹, knife¹, pitch¹, shaft¹, spear¹, fling¹, sling¹, heave¹

6 letters

launch¹, pierce¹, lancet²

7 letters

javelin³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (lancet² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français

lance

Italiano

lancia

Español

lanza

Deutsch

Speer

Català

llança