speared; spearing; spears
1
: to pierce, strike, or take with or as if with a spear
spear salmon
speared a chop from the platter
2
: to catch (something, such as a baseball) with a sudden thrust of the arm
3
a
ice hockey
: to jab (an opposing player) with the blade of one's stick
All game, the Caps held, hooked, slashed, speared, chopped, and bopped … the Rangers' European players.—
Stu Hackel
Stu Hackel
b
American football
: to ram (an opposing player) with one's helmet
… defensive end Ben Davidson set off a sidelines-clearing scrum when he speared Dawson from behind after he was down.—Jim Trotter
Jim Trotter
: to thrust at or wound something with or as if with a spear
spearer
noun
: paternal sense 3
the spear side of the family
compare distaff
speared; spearing; spears
: a usually young blade, shoot, or sprout (as of grass)
Synonyms
Examples of spear in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the Roman gladiator thrust his spear triumphantly into the lion's side
Verb (1)
she speared a pea with her fork and angrily flung it
Recent Examples on the Web
Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Williams in the video appeared to have speared one of the flags with his machete, and waved it in the air attached to the end of his weapon.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 30 Oct. 2024
Matt Boyse, National Review, 7 Jan. 2025
The same steps where, four years earlier, Trump flags were waved above the frenzied crowd and wielded like spears; where an officer was dragged facedown to be beaten with an American flag on a pole and another was pulled into the scrum to be kicked and stomped.
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
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Verb
After the match, Rhodes and Owens brawled on a production crate, leading to Rhodes spearing Owens through a table.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Williams in the video appeared to have speared one of the flags with his machete, and waved it in the air attached to the end of his weapon.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
This is not so in Poland, where the government of former EU Council President and current prime minister, Donald Tusk, looks not for tools but for weapons — spears to throw at its friends abroad and knives to jab at its critics at home.
—Matt Boyse, National Review, 7 Jan. 2025
The same steps where, four years earlier, Trump flags were waved above the frenzied crowd and wielded like spears; where an officer was dragged facedown to be beaten with an American flag on a pole and another was pulled into the scrum to be kicked and stomped.
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for spear
Dictionary Entries Near spear
Cite this Entry
“Spear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spear. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spear
2 of 3 verb
: to pierce or strike with or as if with a spear
spearer
noun
spear
3 of 3 noun
: a usually young blade, shoot, or sprout (as of grass)
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