pierce
/pɪɹs/verb, noun
pierce is spelled P-I-E-R-C-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Pierce, the name). As a verb, pierce means “To puncture; to break through” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pierce?
| Letters | 6: P-I-E-R-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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 pierce?
Pierce appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Pierce, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pierce?
- US /pɪɹs/
- UK /pɪəs/
- /piɹs/
Pierce 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-pierce.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pierce
Also written: perse.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with pierce?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as pierce (/ɪɹs/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: recipe.
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 pierce
- pierces present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- piercing participle, present
- pierced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pierce mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To puncture; to break through.
The diver pierced the surface of the water with scarcely a splash.
- 2
To create a hole in the skin for the purpose of inserting jewelry.
Can you believe he pierced his tongue?
- 3
to break or interrupt abruptly
A dreadful scream pierced the silence.
- 4
To get to the heart or crux of (a matter).
to pierce a mystery
- 5
To penetrate; to affect deeply.
A stab of fear pierced my heart.
noun
- 1
nonstandardA piercing.
- 2
A pierced earring.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pierce in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | percer |
| German | durchstechen, lochen , piercen |
| Portuguese | furar, perfurar |
| Spanish | atravesar, traspasar , agujerear, punzonar, horadar, horacar |
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 pierce come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).