piercing
UK/ˈpɪəsɪŋ//ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/
piercing is the present participle and gerund of pierce.
piercing is the gerund of pierce.
Noun
piercing (countable and uncountable, plural piercings)
- A hole made in the body so that jewellery can be worn through it.
- ear piercing
- An item of jewellery designed to be fitted through a piercing (noun sense 2).
Adjective
piercing (comparative more piercing, superlative most piercing)
- Appearing to look deeply into; penetrating.
- piercing eyes
- Synonyms:
- gimlety
- Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
- Synonyms:
- raw
- Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.
- The piercing noise of the children could be heard two blocks from the elementary school.
- In the meantime the saw was stopped and two of the men began filing and sharpening the blades, which produced such a piercing sound that it went through bone and marrow.1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 155
Meaning of pierce
Verb
pierce (third-person singular simple present pierces, present participle piercing, simple past and past participle pierced)
- To puncture; to break through.
- The diver pierced the surface of the water with scarcely a splash.
- Synonyms:
- transfix
- To create a hole in the skin for the purpose of inserting jewelry.
- Can you believe he pierced his tongue?
- to break or interrupt abruptly
- A dreadful scream pierced the silence.
- To get to the heart or crux of (a matter).
- to pierce a mystery
- To penetrate; to affect deeply.
- A stab of fear pierced my heart.
Synonyms of piercing
Forms of piercing
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | piercings |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more piercing |
| superlative | most piercing |
Origin of piercing
From pierce + -ing.
Words formed from piercing
- body piercing
- Christina piercing
- daith piercing
- fourchette piercing
- industrial piercing
- Isabella piercing
- Madonna piercing
- Medusa piercing
- Monroe piercing
- Nefertiti piercing
- nose piercing
- piercing gun
- Princess Albertina piercing
- septum piercing
- triangle piercing
- armour-piercing
- armor-piercing
- ear-piercing
- nonpiercing
- piercingly
- piercingness
- unpiercing
Phrases with piercing
Questions about piercing
- What does piercing mean?
- Piercing means a hole made in the body so that jewellery can be worn through it.
- What is piercing the present participle and gerund of?
- Piercing is the present participle and gerund of pierce.
- What part of speech is piercing?
- Piercing can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce piercing?
- Piercing is pronounced /ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/ (US).
- What is the plural of piercing?
- The plural of piercing is piercings.
Words near piercing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: piercing (page history and authors); pierce (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-piercing.ogg.
Cite this entry: “piercing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/piercing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.