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javelin

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

javuhluhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdʒævələn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events

  2. A metal-tipped spear thrown for distance in an athletic field event.

  3. A light spear thrown with the hand and used as a weapon.

  4. A javelinfish (Coelorinchus australis).

verb

  1. transitive

    To throw like a javelin.

  2. transitive

    To pierce with a javelin.

  3. intransitive

    To fall like a javelin.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events

Used this way, javelin is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

javelin throwingjavelin throwercanadian javelinshort javelinheavy javelinolympic javelin

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.