lance
/læns/noun, verb
lance is spelled L-A-N-C-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lance means “A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lance is lances.
How many letters and syllables are in lance?
| Letters | 5: L-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lance?
Lance appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lance?
- UK /lɑːns/
- US /læns/
Lance has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lance.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lance?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lance from its last stressed vowel (/æns/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: clean.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lance
- lances plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lancing participle, present
- lanced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.
- 2
A wooden spear, sometimes hollow, used in jousting or tilting, designed to shatter on impact with the opposing knight’s armour.
- 3
A spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.
- 4
A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
- 5
An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
- 6
A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
- 7
One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
- 8
A lancet.
verb
- 1
To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.
- 2
To open with a lancet; to prick or cut open with a sharp instrument; to pierce.
to lance a vein or an abscess
- 3
To throw in the manner of a lance; to lanch.
- 4
informalTo steal or swipe.
He lanced my drink and spiked it!
- 5
To move suddenly and quickly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lance |
| German | Lanze , Harpune , Lanzer , Harpune mit Sprenggeschoss |
| Portuguese | lança , lanceiro |
| Spanish | lanza , lancero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lance come from?
From Middle English launce, from Old French lance, from Latin lancea.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).