Definition of Lance

Pronunciation: lăns
n.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.(Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
4.(Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
5.(Pyrotech.) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
6.(Med.) A lancet.
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. See also freelance, n. and a., and freelancer.
Lance bucket
(Cavalry) a socket attached to a saddle or stirrup strap, in which to rest the but of a lance.
Lance corporal
same as Lancepesade.
Lance knight
a lansquenet.
Lance snake
(Zool.) the fer-de-lance.
- B. Jonson.
Stink-fire lance
(Mil.) a kind of fuse filled with a composition which burns with a suffocating odor; - used in the counter operations of miners.
To break a lance
to engage in a tilt or contest.
v. t.1.To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.
[imp. & p. p. Lanced ( ); p. pr. & vb. n. Lancing .]
Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced
Her back.
- Dryden.
2.To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or an abscess.
3.To throw in the manner of a lance. See Lanch.


Related Words

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Lampoon
Lampooner
Lampoonry
Lamprel
Lamprey
Lampron
lampshade
lampshell
Lampyridae
Lampyrine
Lampyris
LAN
Lanai
Lanarkite
Lanary
Lanate
Lancashire boiler
Lancaster
Lancasterian
Lancastrian
Lance bucket
lance corporal
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Lance knight
Lance snake
Lancegay
Lancelet
Lancely
Lanceolar
Lanceolate
Lancepesade
Lancer
lancers
Lancet
Lancet arch
Lancet architecture
lancetfish
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Lanciferous
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