pierced

[ peerst ]

adjective

1. punctured or perforated, as to form a decorative design:

   a pendant in pierced copper.

2. relating to or being a body part punctured for the purpose of inserting jewelry:

   From jungle tribes to desert nomads to royalty, pierced ears were indicators of both beauty and social standing.

3. relating to or being jewelry attached through a punctured body part: Nude bellies can be enhanced with pierced navel rings.

   Pierced earrings cannot be returned or exchanged due to hygiene reasons.

   Nude bellies can be enhanced with pierced navel rings.

4. Heraldry. (of a charge) open at the center to reveal the field:

   a lozenge pierced.

Other Words From

• un·pierced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pierced¹

First recorded in 1300–50; pierce, -ed ²

Example Sentences

One of the bullets brushed his spine and another pierced his bladder, leaving him with a permanent catheter.

From Los Angeles Times

"He died before the ambulance arrived. I was told he was very unlucky, because a piece of shrapnel pierced his heart," she says, breaking down.

From BBC

I got my ear pierced there drunkenly once upon a time.

From Los Angeles Times

ADF’s first big win was in a 2014 case in which it pierced the armor of Lemon by getting the court to agree that public prayer was allowed before City Council meetings in Greece, New York.

From Slate

The unnamed group’s symbol — described in the memo and confirmed to The Times by five sources in the department — is a skull with blood-red eyes, pierced by a jagged lightning bolt.

From Los Angeles Times