Pierce
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A pierced earring. Japan
- 1 To puncture; to break through. transitive
"The diver pierced the surface of the water with scarcely a splash."
- 2 make a hole into wordnet
- 3 To create a hole in the skin for the purpose of inserting jewelry. transitive
"Can you believe he pierced his tongue?"
- 4 penetrate or cut through with a sharp instrument wordnet
- 5 to break or interrupt abruptly transitive
"A dreadful scream pierced the silence."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 cut or make a way through wordnet
- 7 To get to the heart or crux of (a matter). figuratively, transitive
"to pierce a mystery"
- 8 move or affect (a person's emotions or bodily feelings) deeply or sharply wordnet
- 9 To penetrate; to affect deeply. figuratively, transitive
"A stab of fear pierced my heart."
- 10 sound sharply or shrilly wordnet
- 1 A male given name from Ancient Greek, medieval variant of Piers. Modern usage may also derive from the surname.
- 2 A surname originating as a patronymic.
- 3 A city, the county seat of Pierce County, Nebraska, United States.
Example
More examples"If a high hill stood between A and B, it was important to decide whether the line should climb over it, pierce it with a tunnel, or make a detour to avoid it."
Etymology
From Middle English perce, from conjugated forms of Old French percier such as (jeo) pierce (“I pierce”), probably from Vulgar Latin *pertūsiō, from Latin pertūsus, past participle of pertundō (“thrust or bore through”), from per- (“through”) + tundō (“beat, pound”). Displaced native Old English þȳrlian (literally “to hole”).
Borrowed from Japanese ピアス (piasu, “pierced earring”), itself from English pierce.
Related phrases
More for "pierce"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.