Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced Her
back. --Dryden.
2. To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or
an abscess.
3. To throw in the manner of a lance. See {Lanch}.
A braver soldier never couched lance. --Shak.
2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
3. (Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the
mold in casting a shell.
4. (Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece
of ordnance and forces it home.
5. (Pyrotech.) One of the small paper cases filled with
combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a
figure.
{Free lance}, in the Middle Ages, and subsequently, a knight
or roving soldier, who was free to engage for any state or
commander that purchased his services; hence, a person who
assails institutions or opinions on his own responsibility
without regard to party lines or deference to authority.
{Lance bucket} (Cavalry), a socket attached to a saddle or
stirrup strap, in which to rest the but of a lance.
{Lance corporal}, same as {Lancepesade}.
{Lance knight}, a lansquenet. --B. Jonson.
{Lance snake} (Zo["o]l.), the fer-de-lance.
{Stink-fire lance} (Mil.), a kind of fuse filled with a
composition which burns with a suffocating odor; -- used
in the counter operations of miners.
{To break a lance}, to engage in a tilt or contest.