harpoon

[hahr-poon]

noun

1. a barbed, spearlike missile attached to a rope, and thrown by hand or shot from a gun, used for killing and capturing whales and large fish.

2. Military.,  Harpoon, a jet-powered, radar-guided U.S. Navy cruise missile with a high explosive warhead designed for use against surface ships and launchable from a surface vessel, submerged submarine, or aircraft.

verb (used with object)

1. to strike, catch, or kill with or as if with a harpoon.

harpoon

/ hɑːˈpuːn /

noun

1. 1. a barbed missile attached to a long cord and hurled or fired from a gun when hunting whales, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a harpoon gun

verb

1. (tr) to spear with or as if with a harpoon

Other Word Forms

• harpooner noun
• harpoonlike adjective
• harpoon-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of harpoon¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Dutch harpoen, ultimately derived from Old French harpon “a clasp, brooch,” equivalent to harp- (from Latin harpē, from Greek: “hook”) + -on diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of harpoon¹

C17: probably from Dutch harpoen, from Old French harpon clasp, from harper to seize, perhaps of Scandinavian origin

Example Sentences

They got their name because they were the “right” whales to harpoon — their bodies floated for easy recovery after they were killed.

From Los Angeles Times

But “the whale who spouts gets harpooned,” Phillips later noted after the “Democratic machine” set out to quash his chances.

From Los Angeles Times

Not believing him, the salesman behind the counter becomes the sole fatality in a freak harpoon gun accident that’s much more disgusting than I’m giving it credit for.

From Salon

Their evidence included finding stone harpoon points that hadn’t been used since the mid-1800s embedded in the blubber of whales recently killed by traditional whalers.

From Salon

Monitoring by the government's veterinary agency showed that explosive harpoons were causing whales prolonged agony.

From BBC

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