lunge
1 Americannoun
noun
-
a sudden forward motion
-
fencing a thrust made by advancing the front foot and straightening the back leg, extending the sword arm forwards
verb
-
to move or cause to move with a lunge
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(intr) fencing to make a lunge
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- lunger noun
Etymology
Origin of lunge1
1725–35; earlier longe for French allonge (noun; construed as a longe ), allonger (v.) to lengthen, extend, deliver (blows) < Vulgar Latin *allongāre, for Late Latin ēlongāre to elongate
Origin of lunge2
Explanation
To lunge is to move forward suddenly, often in a thrusting manner. A parent might lunge to grab a runaway child. Lunging is not usually a graceful movement. A lunge is quick and desperate. If it suddenly rains, people will lunge to get under an awning. In football, when the ball is hiked, the linemen lunge at each other. Lunging always involves moving forward.
Vocabulary lists containing lunge
Twelve Angry Men
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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Kindred
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Just when it looked like the evening's pantomime villain would be an unlikely match-winner, White was penalised for a lunge on Federico Vinas in stoppage time.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Competitors ski, push and pull sleds, row, burpee, lunge and throw heavy medicine balls at a target in an effort to finish in the fastest time.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Witnesses have said he did not lunge at officers or pose an immediate threat.
From Salon • Jan. 25, 2026
Johnson was sent off in the second half when his lunge on Marcos Lopez was upgraded from a booking to a red card after VAR intervened.
From Barron's • Nov. 4, 2025
She lunges for the Cloud Knights’ Artifact before they can register her presence, right at the same time as the Knights lunge for Asher’s.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
