WikiWord

piercing

From WikiWord

English

Etymology

No etymology has been added yet.

Pronunciation

  • IPA /ˈpɪəsɪŋ/

Noun

piercing noun

  1. The action of the verb to pierce.
  2. A hole made in the body so that jewellery/jewelry can be worn through it.“ear piercing”
  3. An item of jewelry designed to be fitted through a piercing.

Verb

piercing 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 scream pierced the silence.”
  4. To get to the heart or crux of (a matter).“to pierce a mystery”

Adjective

piercing adjective

  1. Appearing to look deeply into; penetrating.“piercing eyes”
  2. Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
  3. Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.“The piercing noise of the children could be heard two blocks from the elementary school.”

Word map

sharpcuttingpenetratingstabbingpenetrativeknifelikehighhigh-pitchedshrillincisivepiercing

Related terms

Synonyms

Associated

Rhymes

Usage & collocations

No usage or collocation data has been added yet.

Community definitions

Community definitions for piercing appear here as readers add and vote on them.

Usage in the wild

Real example sentences for piercing appear here as readers add them.

References