On a scorching day this August, Caleb Woodall wielded his shovel like a spear, stabbing it into the hardened crust of an asbestos-filled pit near Coalinga, California.
Asbestos could be a powerful weapon against climate change (you read that right)|James Temple|October 6, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The first spear-throwers tossed their weapons 279,000 years ago — before modern humans existed.
Let’s learn about ancient technology|Bethany Brookshire|September 15, 2020|Science News For Students
Scientists long believed that the ancients who lived 80,000 years ago were the first to throw spears with stone tips.
Let’s learn about ancient technology|Bethany Brookshire|September 15, 2020|Science News For Students
It’s possible, he says, that bone points were attached to multi-pronged spears that were thrown or thrust at fish.
Clues to the earliest known bow-and-arrow hunting outside Africa have been found|Bruce Bower|June 12, 2020|Science News
Each of two newly analyzed specimens sports a toothy lower jaw and one giant spear jutting down from its top jaw.
Saber-toothed anchovy relatives were once fearsome hunters|Carolyn Wilke|June 11, 2020|Science News For Students
In some versions of that story, the spear is the first weapon George tries.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso|Rich Goldstein|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The earliest clear evidence of a human killed by a spear dates to roughly 100,000 years ago.
War! What Is It Good For? A Lot|Nick Romeo|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This could be the tip of the spear in a larger battle to Christianize Jewish culture.
Sarah Palin Is Here to Save Christmas, Thank God|Candida Moss|November 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And, as we all know, “this ‘war on Christmas’ is the tip of the spear in a larger battle to secularize our culture.”
Sarah Palin Is Here to Save Christmas, Thank God|Candida Moss|November 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“I almost died twice today,” Shane exclaims, after beheading the snake with a pointed stick he whittled to a spear.
‘Naked and Afraid’ Is the Craziest Show on TV—You Just Have to Watch|Kevin Fallon|July 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It has been said that the buckler, the bow, and the spear, must continue the arms of poetry.
The Lusiad|Lus de Cames
David did much better with his sling than he would have done with Saul's sword and spear.
How To Do It|Edward Everett Hale
A critic of the highest order is provided with an Ithuriel spear, which discriminates the sham sentiments from the true.
Hours in a Library, Volume I. (of III.)|Leslie Stephen
But Why-Why merely lifted his hand, and in a moment a spear flew from it which pinned his denouncer ignominiously to a pine-tree.
In the Wrong Paradise|Andrew Lang
I ran to her and with my spear had begun to remove- 281 - the burning sticks when an arrow split the crown of my hat.
Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820|Sherburne Friend Cook
British Dictionary definitions for spear (1 of 2)
spear1
/ (spɪə) /
noun
a weapon consisting of a long shaft with a sharp pointed end of metal, stone, or wood that may be thrown or thrust
a similar implement used to catch fish
another name for spearman
verb
to pierce (something) with or as if with a spear
Derived forms of spear
spearer, noun
Word Origin for spear
Old English spere; related to Old Norse spjör spears, Greek sparos gilthead
British Dictionary definitions for spear (2 of 2)
spear2
/ (spɪə) /
noun
a shoot, slender stalk, or blade, as of grass, asparagus, or broccoli
Word Origin for spear
C16: probably variant of spire1, influenced by spear1