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# pierce

«pierce» in Mova's school dictionary: **To make a hole in or through something with a sharp…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (pierce, pierces, pierced, piercing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To make a hole in or through something with a sharp point: "The needle pierced the cloth." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#m1)

2) To have a hole made in a body part to wear jewellery: "She had her ears pierced." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#m2)

3) (of light, sound or cold) To suddenly go through something: "A scream pierced the silence." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#m3)

4) (piercing, adjective) Very loud and high, very sharp, or very cold; piercing eyes seem to look right through you. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, ear piercing is common; hygiene and permission matter. In stories, an arrow pierces armour, light pierces the darkness, a cry pierces the night. In science, sharp objects pierce materials because the force is on a tiny area (high pressure).

### examples

- The arrow pierced the target. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x1)
- She got her ears pierced for her birthday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x2)
- A whistle pierced the air. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x3)
- Sunlight pierced the clouds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x4)
- A thorn pierced his finger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x5)
- The wind was piercing on the hill. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x6)
- Her piercing blue eyes stared at me. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x7)
- Immediately afterward they heard a sharp, piercing cry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/#x8)

### note

Regular verb; spelling "ie" (i before e). Noun: piercing (a hole for jewellery, or the jewellery). Safety: sharp objects can pierce skin; carry scissors pointing down.

### In the corpora

- [Art thou not it that hewed Rahab in pieces, that pierced the dragon?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/ISA.1140/)
- [By His breath the heavens are serene; His hand hath pierced the slant serpent.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/JOB.668/)
- [In the night my bones are pierced, and fall from me, and my sinews take no rest.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/JOB.765/)
- [Shall any take him by his eyes, or pierce through his nose with a snare?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/JOB.1118/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «pierce» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pierce/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.