Definition of lance

• 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.
• n. - A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
• n. - A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
• n. - An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
• n. - One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
• v. t. - To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.
• v. t. - To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or an abscess.
• v. t. - To throw in the manner of a lance. See Lanch.