| 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. (n.) A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer. 3. (n.) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell. 4. (n.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home. 5. (n.) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure. 6. (v. t.) To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon. 7. (v. t.) To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or an abscess. 8. (v. t.) To throw in the manner of a lance. See Launch. Thesaurus Entries amputate, assegai, auger, ax, bayonet, bisect, bite, bore, bowl, broach, butcher, carve, cast, catapult, chop, chuck, chunk, cleave, countersink, cut, cut away, cut in two, cut off, dagger, dart, dash, dichotomize, dirk, dissever, drill, empierce, excise, fire, fissure, fix, fling, flip, fork, gash, gore, gouge, gouge out, hack, halve, heave, hew, hole, honeycomb, hurl, hurtle, impale, incise, javelin, jerk, jigsaw, knife, lancet, launch, let fly, lob, needle, open, pare, pass, peg, pelt, penetrate, perforate, pierce, pike, pink, pitch, pitchfork, plunge in, poniard, prick, prune, punch, puncture, put, put the shot, ream, ream out, rend, riddle, rive, run through, saber, saw, scissor, serve, sever, shy, skewer, slash, slice, sling, slit, snap, snip, spear, spike, spit, split, stab, stick, stiletto, sunder, sword, tap, tear, throw, tilt, toss, transfix, transpierce, trepan, trephine, whittle |