harpoon

IPA/hɑːˈpuːn/
KK[hɑrpˈun]IPA/hɑːrˈpuːn/

harpoon — noun

  • harpoonsingular
  • harpoonsplural

1. A long weapon shaped like a spear, with a sharp metal head that has backward-fac

1.nounB2
Definition

A long weapon shaped like a spear, with a sharp metal head that has backward-facing hooks, tied to a rope and used for catching large sea animals such as whales or tuna.

Example

The museum's whale exhibit showed a traditional harpoon carved from walrus ivory and bone.

noun modified by material + provenance

Kwame bought an old harpoon at the port market and hung it on his wall as decoration.

Common collocations
  • throw a harpoon
  • fire a harpoon
  • load a harpoon
  • harpoon gun
  • harpoon line
  • harpoon tip
  • barbed harpoon
  • antique harpoon
Synonyms
  • spear

    a general-purpose pointed weapon for hunting or fighting on land; harpoons are a specialised type of spear for large sea animals

  • lance

    a long cavalry weapon used on horseback, not for fishing or whaling

  • barb

    refers only to the backward-facing point on the head of a harpoon, not the whole weapon

Grammar Patterns

a harpoon

harpoon + gun / line / tip

Usage Note

Common in compound nouns such as harpoon gun and harpoon line. In many countries, the use of harpoons for hunting whales is now banned or heavily restricted.

Common Mistakes

The fisherman threw a harpoon at the deer.
The fisherman threw a harpoon at the whale.
Harpoons are specifically designed for hunting large sea animals, not land animals.

harpoon — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A harpoon is a specialised type of spear, but the two are not interchangeable. A spear is a general-purpose long pointed weapon used for hunting land animals or fighting — you throw a spear at a deer or use it in hand-to-hand combat. A harpoon is designed exclusively for hunting large sea animals: it has a barbed head that lodges in the prey's flesh and a rope attached so the animal cannot escape after being struck. A lance is a heavy cavalry weapon used on horseback, completely unrelated to fishing or whaling. A javelin is a light spear thrown in athletic competition or warfare, never used for hunting at sea. A barb is not a weapon at all — it is the small backward-facing projection on a harpoon or fishhook that keeps the point from pulling out easily. For example, you would say 'the warrior threw a spear at the deer' but 'the whaler fired a harpoon at the whale.'

spear ↗lance ↗javelin ↗barb ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • harpoon gun
  • harpoon line
  • harpoon tip
  • harpoon head
  • harpoon wound
  • harpoon hunter
  • harpoon boat

Adverbs

  • traditionally harpoon
  • illegally harpoon
  • brutally harpoon

Phrases

  • throw a harpoon
  • fire a harpoon
  • load a harpoon
  • harpoon and line

Prepositions

  • harpooned by
  • harpooned with
  • harpoon from (a boat / a kayak / the ice)

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Harpoon entered English in the early 1600s from French harpon, meaning a clasp or hook used to hold something fast. The French word came from Latin harpago (a grappling iron), which in turn came from Greek ἁρπάζειν (harpazein, 'to snatch or seize'). The image of something that grabs and holds on tightly fits the weapon's design perfectly: once it strikes, the barbed head lodges in the animal, and the rope keeps the prey from escaping.