[hahr-poon] 
| 1. | a barbed, spearlike missile attached to a rope, and thrown by hand or shot from a gun, used for killing and capturing whales and large fish. |
| 2. | (initial capital letter ) Military. a jet-powered, radar-guided U.S. Navy cruise missile with a high explosive warhead designed for use against surface ships and launchable from a surface vessel, submerged submarine, or aircraft. |
| 3. | to strike, catch, or kill with or as if with a harpoon. |
| har·poon (här-pōōn') n. A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish. tr.v. har·pooned, har·poon·ing, har·poons To strike, kill, or capture with or as if with a spearlike weapon. [Probably from Dutch harpoen, from Middle Dutch, from Old French harpon, possibly from harpe, clamp, claw, from Latin harpa, sickle, from Greek harpē.] har·poon'er n. |