Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
Definition of Piercer - 3 dictionary results

pierce

  [peers] verb, pierced, pierc⋅ing.
Use Piercer in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to penetrate into or run through (something), as a sharp, pointed dagger, object, or instrument does.
2. to make a hole or opening in.
3. to bore into or through; tunnel.
4. to perforate.
5. to make (a hole, opening, etc.) by or as by boring or perforating.
6. to make a way or path into or through: a road that pierces the dense jungle.
7. to penetrate with the eye or mind; see into or through: She couldn't pierce his thoughts.
8. to affect sharply with some sensation or emotion, as of cold, pain, or grief: The wind pierced her body. Her words pierced our hearts.
9. to sound sharply through (the air, stillness, etc.): A pistol shot pierced the night.
–verb (used without object)
10. to force or make a way into or through something; penetrate: to pierce to the heart.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME percen < OF perc(i)er < VL *pertūsiāre, v. deriv. of L pertūsus, ptp. of pertundere to bore a hole through, perforate, equiv. to per- per- + tundere to strike, beat

Related forms:
pierce⋅a⋅ble, adjective
piercer, noun

Synonyms:
1. enter, puncture. Pierce, penetrate suggest the action of one object passing through another or making a way through and into another. The terms are used both concretely and figuratively. To pierce is to perforate quickly, as by stabbing; it suggests the use of a sharp, pointed instrument which is impelled by force: to pierce the flesh with a knife; a scream pierces one's ears. Penetrate suggests a slow or difficult movement: No ordinary bullet can penetrate an elephant's hide; to penetrate the depths of one's ignorance. 8. touch, move, strike, thrill.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Piercer
pierce   (pîrs)   
v.   pierced, pierc·ing, pierc·es

v.   tr.
  1. To cut or pass through with or as if with a sharp instrument; stab or penetrate.
  2. To make a hole or opening in; perforate.
  3. To make a way through: The path pierced the wilderness.
  4. To sound sharply through: His shout pierced the din.
  5. To succeed in penetrating (something) with the eyes or the intellect: Large glowing yellow eyes pierced the darkness.
v.   intr.
To penetrate into or through something: The rocket pierced through space.

[Middle English percen, from Old French percer, probably from Vulgar Latin *pertūsiāre, from Latin pertūsus, past participle of pertundere, to bore through : per-, per- + tundere, to beat.]
pierc'er n., pierc'ing adj., pierc'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Piercer

Pier"cer\, n. 1. One who, or that which, pierces or perforates; specifically: (a) An instrument used in forming eyelets; a stiletto. (b) A piercel.

2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The ovipositor, or sting, of an insect. (b) An insect provided with an ovipositor.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Piercer on Thesaurus | Reference