Definition of Lance

1. Verb. Move quickly, as if by cutting one's way. "Planes lanced towards the shore"

Generic synonyms: Go, Locomote, Move, Travel

2. Noun. A long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon.
Exact synonyms: Shaft, Spear
Specialized synonyms: Assagai, Assegai, Javelin, Trident
Terms within: Barb, Spear-point, Spearhead, Spearpoint
Generic synonyms: Arm, Weapon, Weapon System
Derivative terms: Spear, Spear

3. Verb. Pierce with a lance, as in a knights' fight.
Generic synonyms: Pierce, Thrust

4. Noun. An implement with a shaft and barbed point used for catching fish.
Exact synonyms: Fishgig, Fizgig, Gig, Spear
Group relationships: Fishing Gear, Fishing Rig, Fishing Tackle, Rig, Tackle
Specialized synonyms: Harpoon, Leister
Generic synonyms: Implement
Derivative terms: Spear

5. Verb. Open by piercing with a lancet. "Lance a boil"
Generic synonyms: Open, Open Up

6. Noun. A surgical knife with a pointed double-edged blade; used for punctures and small incisions.
Exact synonyms: Lancet
Generic synonyms: Surgical Knife

Definition of Lance

1. n. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen, and often decorated with a small flag; also, a spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.

2. v. t. To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.

Definition of Lance

1. Proper noun. (surname patronymic from=given names) ¹

2. Proper noun. (Germanic male given name), pet form of Lancelot or transferred use of the surname; by folk etymology associated with a lance. ¹

3. Noun. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen. ¹

4. Noun. A wooden spear, sometimes hollow, used in jousting or tilting, designed to shatter on impact with the opposing knight’s armour. ¹

5. Noun. (fishing) A spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen. ¹

6. Noun. (military) A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer. ¹

7. Noun. (military) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home. ¹

8. Noun. (context: Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell. ¹

9. Noun. (context: Pyrotechnics) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure. ¹

10. Noun. (medicine) A lancet. ¹

11. Verb. To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon. ¹

12. Verb. To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or an abscess. ¹

13. Verb. To throw in the manner of a lance; to lanch. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Lance

1. to pierce with a lance (a spearlike weapon) [v LANCED, LANCING, LANCES]

Medical Definition of Lance

1. 1. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen, and often decorated with a small flag; also, a spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen. "A braver soldier never couched lance." (Shak) 2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer. 3. A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell. 4. An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home. 5. One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure. Free lance, in the Middle Ages, and subsequently, a knight or roving soldier, who was free to engage for any state or commander that purchased his services; hence, a person who assails institutions or opinions on his own responsibility without regard to party lines or deference to authority. Lance bucket, a kind of fuse filled with a composition which burns with a suffocating odour; used in the counter operations of miners. To break a lance, to engage in a tilt or contest. Origin: OE. Lance, F. Lance, fr. L. Lancea; cf. Gr. Cf. Launch. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Lance

lamrim
lams
lamster
lamsters
lana
lanai
lanais
lanaries
lanarkite
lanary
lanas
lanate
lanated
lanatoside D
lanatosides
lance-corporal
lance-jack
lance-jacks
lance corporal
lance corporals
lance fish
lanced
lancefish
lancefishes
lancegay
lancegays
lancehead
lanceless
lancelet

Literary usage of Lance

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1899)
"At Antioch,' said the apostle, " in the church of my brother St. Peter, near the high altar, is concealed the steel head of the lance thai pierced the side ..."

2. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1902)
""At Antioch,'' said the apostle, " in the church of my brother St Peter, near the high altar, is concealed the steel head of the lance that pierced the side ..."

3. The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and by Hugh Chisholm (1911)
"As to the question of the relative efficiency of the lance and the sword as the principal arm for cavalry, it is alleged that the former is heavy and ..."

4. The Complete Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott by Walter Scott (1900)
"XIII Here must they pause; for, in advance As far as one might pitch a lance, The monarch rode along the van, The foe's approaching force to scan, ..."

5. Punch by Mark Lemon, Henry Mayhew, Tom Taylor, Shirley Brooks, Francis Cowley Burnand, Owen Seaman (1888)
"He '11 find, for all his valorous vaunts, The dolts whose shields I strike ; But anyhow my lance is free To couch "gainst whom I like. First Free lance. ..."

6. A History of the Earth and Animated Nature by Oliver Goldsmith (1856)
"The arms in this combat, seemingly so dangerous, are only a lance of two or three yards long, made of heavy wood, with the point bar- dened in the fire ..."

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